Homologous and Heterologous Overexpression in Clostridium acetobutylicum and Characterization of Purified Clostridial and Algal Fe-Only Hydrogenases with High Specific Activities

摘要

Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 was selected for the homologous overexpression of its Fe-only hydrogenase and for the heterologous expressions of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Scenedesmus obliquus HydA1 Fe-only hydrogenases. The three Strep tag II-tagged Fe-only hydrogenases were isolated with high specific activities by two-step column chromatography. The purified algal hydrogenases evolve hydrogen with rates of around 700 μmol H2 min−1 mg−1, while HydA from C. acetobutylicum (HydACa) shows the highest activity (5,522 μmol H2 min−1 mg−1) in the direction of hydrogen uptake. Further, kinetic parameters and substrate specificity were reported. An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis of the thionin-oxidized HydACa protein indicates a characteristic rhombic EPR signal that is typical for the oxidized H cluster of Fe-only hydrogenases.