ABSTRACT The soluble [NiFe]-hydrogenase (SH) of the facultative lithoautotrophic proteobacterium Ralstonia eutropha H16 has up to now been described as a heterotetrameric enzyme. The purified protein consists of two functionally distinct heterodimeric moieties. The HoxHY dimer represents the hydrogenase module, and the HoxFU dimer constitutes an NADH-dehydrogenase. In the bimodular form, the SH mediates reduction of NAD+ at the expense of H2. We have purified a new high-molecular-weight form of the SH which contains an additional subunit. This extra subunit was identified as the product of hoxI, a member of the SH gene cluster (hoxFUYHWI). Edman degradation, in combination with protein sequencing of the SH high-molecular-weight complex, established a subunit stoichiometry of HoxFUYHI2. Cross-linking experiments indicated that the two HoxI subunits are the closest neighbors. The stability of the hexameric SH depended on the pH and the ionic strength of the buffer. The tetrameric form of the SH can be instantaneously activated with small amounts of NADH but not with NADPH. The hexameric form, however, was also activated by adding small amounts of NADPH. This suggests that HoxI provides a binding domain for NADPH. A specific reaction site for NADPH adds to the list of similarities between the SH and mitochondrial NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I).

Infrared spectra of 15 N-enriched preparations of the soluble cytoplasmic NAD + -reducing [NiFe]-hydrogenase from Ralstonia eutropha are presented. These spectra, together with chemical analyses, show that the Ni-Fe active site contains four cyanide groups and one carbon monoxide molecule. It is proposed that the active site is a (RS) 2 (CN)Ni(μ-RS) 2 Fe(CN) 3 (CO) centre (R=Cys) and that H 2 activation solely takes place on nickel. One of the two FMN groups (FMN-a) in the enzyme can be reversibly released upon reduction of the enzyme. It is now reported that at longer times also one of the cyanide groups, the one proposed to be bound to the nickel atom, could be removed from the enzyme. This process was irreversible and induced the inhibition of the enzyme activity by oxygen; the enzyme remained insensitive to carbon monoxide. The Ni-Fe active site was EPR undetectable under all conditions tested. It is concluded that the Ni-bound cyanide group is responsible for the oxygen insensitivity of the enzyme.

The soluble, cytoplasmic NAD+-reducing [NiFe]-hydrogenase from Ralstonia eutropha is a heterotetrameric enzyme (HoxFUYH) and contains two FMN groups. The purified oxidized enzyme is inactive in the H2-NAD+ reaction, but can be activated by catalytic amounts of NADH. It was discovered that one of the FMN groups (FMN-a) is selectively released upon prolonged reduction of the enzyme with NADH. During this process, the enzyme maintained its tetrameric form, with one FMN group (FMN-b) firmly bound, but it lost its physiological activity--the reduction of NAD+ by H2. This activity could be reconstituted by the addition of excess FMN to the reduced enzyme. The rate of reduction of benzyl viologen by H2 was not dependent on the presence of FMN-a. Enzyme devoid of FMN-a could not be activated by NADH. As NADH-dehydrogenase activity was not dependent on the presence of FMN-a, and because FMN-b did not dissociate from the reduced enzyme, we conclude that FMN-b is functional in the NADH-dehydrogenase activity catalyzed by the HoxFU dimer. The possible function of FMN-a as a hydride acceptor in the hydrogenase reaction catalyzed by the HoxHY dimer is discussed.

Molecular hydrogen is widely used by microorganisms as a source of energy. One of the best studied aerobic hydrogen oxidizers, the beta-proteobacterium Ralstonia eutropha (formerly Alcaligenes eutrophus), harbors two distinct [NiFe]-hydrogenases which catalyze the heterolytic cleavage of H2 into 2H+ and 2e-. The genes encoding the hydrogenase subunits are arranged in two large operons together with accessory and regulatory genes involved in hydrogenase biosynthesis. Both operons are transcribed from strong sigma54-dependent promoters. Transcription requires the activation by the HoxA protein, a member of the NtrC family of response regulators. HoxA is only active when H2 is present in the environment. H2 recognition is mediated by a signal transduction complex consisting of the soluble histidine protein kinase HoxJ and a regulatory [NiFe]-hydrogenase which acts as an H2 receptor. Biochemical and genetic data suggest that signal transduction between the RH and HoxJ involves an electron transport process. According to our current model the histidine protein kinase HoxJ inactivates HoxA by phosphorylation in the absence H2. This property of the HoxJ-HoxA regulator pair is quite different from the behaviour of common two-component regulatory systems. Phosphorylation of HoxA is blocked in the presence of H2 provided the RH can contact HoxJ and transmit the signal to the kinase. Furthermore, hydrogenase gene expression is subject to a global regulatory network in response to the carbon and energy source. HoxA is a major component of this epistatic control the molecular mechanism of which is not yet understood.

The actinomycete Rhodococcus opacus MR11 harbors a bidirectional NAD-reducing [NiFe] hydrogenase (SH). This cytoplasmic enzyme is composed of two heterodimeric modules which catalyze distinct enzymatic activities. The hydrogenase moiety mediates H-2:benzyl viologen oxidoreductase activity and the FMN-containing diaphorase module displays NADH:benzyl viologen oxidoreductase activity. The SH of Rh. opacus resembles [NiFe] hydrogenases present in strains of the proteobacterium Ralstonia eutropha and in species of cyanobacteria. Heterologous expression of active [NiFe] hydrogenases failed in most cases due to protein-assisted maturation processes implicated in the assembly of the NiFe bimetallic site. This study reports on the construction of a recombinant plasmid harboring the four SH subunit genes hoxFUYH and the associated endopeptidase gene hoxW from Rh. opacus under the regime of the SH promoter from R. eutropha H16. The resulting recombinant plasmid restored lithoautotrophic growth in a R. eutropha mutant impaired in H-2-oxidizing ability. The SH of Rh. opacus was functionally active in R. eutropha and displayed the typical features described for its natural host. It readily dissociated in vitro into two active subforms. Dissociation was accompanied by the loss of the H-2-dependent NAD-reducing activity, which was partially reconstituted by addition of 5 MM MgSO4 and 0.5 mM NiCl2. Activity and stability of the SH from Rh. opacus were enhanced almost three-fold by co-overexpression of the SH-associated metal insertion genes hypA2B2F2 of R. eutropha. Under optimal conditions the heterologously expressed Rh. opacus SH catalyzed NAD-reduction at a specific activity of 1.7 units per mg protein, which is approximately 30% of the yield obtained for the R. eutropha SH. The results indicate that, despite an enormous phylogenetic distance of the two bacterial species, their SH proteins are highly related.

Previous genetic studies have revealed a multicomponent signal transduction chain, consisting of an H-2 sensor, a histidine protein kinase, and a response regulator, which controls hydrogenase gene transcription in the proteobacterium Ralstonia eutropha. In this study, we isolated the H-2 sensor and demonstrated that the purified protein forms a complex with the histidine protein kinase, Biochemical and spectroscopic analysis revealed that the H-2 sensor is a cytoplasmic [NiFe]-hydrogenase with unique features. The H-2-oxidizing activity was 2 orders of magnitude lower than that of standard hydrogenases and insensitive to oxygen, carbon monoxide, and acetylene, Interestingly, only H-2 production but no HD formation was detected in the D-2/H+ exchange assay. Fourier transform infrared data showed an active site similar to that of standard [NiFe]-hydrogenases. It is suggested that the protein environment accounts for a restricted gas diffusion and for the typical kinetic parameters of the H-2 sensor. EPR analysis demonstrated that the [4Fe-4S] clusters within the small subunit were not reduced under hydrogen even in the presence of dithionite. Optical spectra revealed the presence of a novel, redox-active, n = 2 chromophore that is reduced by H-2. The possible involvement of this chromophore in signal transduction is discussed.

Previous genetic studies have revealed a multicomponent signal transduction chain, consisting of an H2 sensor, a histidine protein kinase, and a response regulator, which controls hydrogenase gene transcription in the proteobacterium Ralstonia eutropha. In this study, we isolated the H2 sensor and demonstrated that the purified protein forms a complex with the histidine protein kinase. Biochemical and spectroscopic analysis revealed that the H2 sensor is a cytoplasmic [NiFe]-hydrogenase with unique features. The H2-oxidizing activity was 2 orders of magnitude lower than that of standard hydrogenases and insensitive to oxygen, carbon monoxide, and acetylene. Interestingly, only H2 production but no HD formation was detected in the D2/H+ exchange assay. Fourier transform infrared data showed an active site similar to that of standard [NiFe]-hydrogenases. It is suggested that the protein environment accounts for a restricted gas diffusion and for the typical kinetic parameters of the H2 sensor. EPR analysis demonstrated that the [4Fe-4S] clusters within the small subunit were not reduced under hydrogen even in the presence of dithionite. Optical spectra revealed the presence of a novel, redox-active, n = 2 chromophore that is reduced by H2. The possible involvement of this chromophore in signal transduction is discussed.

ABSTRACT Two energy-generating hydrogenases enable the aerobic hydrogen bacterium Ralstonia eutropha (formerly Alcaligenes eutrophus ) to use molecular hydrogen as the sole energy source. The complex synthesis of the nickel-iron-containing enzymes has to be efficiently regulated in response to H 2 , which is available in low amounts in aerobic environments. H 2 sensing in R. eutropha is achieved by a hydrogenase-like protein which controls the hydrogenase gene expression in concert with a two-component regulatory system. In this study we show that the H 2 sensor of R. eutropha is a cytoplasmic protein. Although capable of H 2 oxidation with redox dyes as electron acceptors, the protein did not support lithoautotrophic growth in the absence of the energy-generating hydrogenases. A specifically designed overexpression system for R. eutropha provided the basis for identifying the H 2 sensor as a nickel-containing regulatory protein. The data support previous results which showed that the sensor has an active site similar to that of prototypic [NiFe] hydrogenases (A. J. Pierik, M. Schmelz, O. Lenz, B. Friedrich, and S. P. J. Albracht, FEBS Lett. 438:231–235, 1998). It is demonstrated that in addition to the enzymatic activity the regulatory function of the H 2 sensor is nickel dependent. The results suggest that H 2 sensing requires an active [NiFe] hydrogenase, leaving the question open whether only H 2 binding or subsequent H 2 oxidation and electron transfer processes are necessary for signaling. The regulatory role of the H 2 -sensing hydrogenase of R. eutropha , which has also been investigated in other hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria, is intimately correlated with a set of typical structural features. Thus, the family of H 2 sensors represents a novel subclass of [NiFe] hydrogenases denoted as the “regulatory hydrogenases.”

ABSTRACT Ralstonia eutropha (formerly Alcaligenes eutrophus ) TF93 is pleiotropically affected in the translocation of redox enzymes synthesized with an N-terminal signal peptide bearing a twin arginine (S/T-R-R-X-F-L-K) motif. Immunoblot analyses showed that the catalytic subunits of the membrane-bound [NiFe] hydrogenase (MBH) and the molybdenum cofactor-binding periplasmic nitrate reductase (Nap) are mislocalized to the cytoplasm and to the inner membrane, respectively. Moreover, physiological studies showed that the copper-containing nitrous oxide reductase (NosZ) was also not translocated to the periplasm in strain TF93. The cellular localization of enzymes exported by the general secretion system was unaffected. The translocation-arrested MBH and Nap proteins were enzymatically active, suggesting that twin-arginine signal peptide-dependent redox enzymes may have their cofactors inserted prior to transmembrane export. The periplasmic destination of MBH, Nap, and NosZ was restored by heterologous expression of Azotobacter chroococcum tatA mobilized into TF93. tatA encodes a bacterial Hcf106-like protein, a component of a novel protein transport system that has been characterized in thylakoids and shown to translocate folded proteins across the membrane.

Detailed molecular studies of hydrogen metabolism have progressed rapidly thanks to the development of genetic systems, which are now available for selected proteobacteria, including species of lithoautotrophs, nitrogen-fixing and photosynthetic microorganisms (reviewed by Friedrich, Schwartz 1993 and Vignais, Toussaint 1994). These facultative hydrogen-oxidizers are abundant in soil and water. Adaptation to shortage of nutrients may explain the great metabolic versatility of these organisms. The ability to utilize a wide range of organic and inorganic substrates and to adjust rapidly to changing environmental conditions demands a rather flexible, balanced metabolic regulation. This article focuses on the hydrogen-oxidizing enzyme system of Alcaligenes eutrophus, the prototype of the so-called hydrogen (knallgas) bacteria, presenting our current knowledge of the arrangement, structure and function of genes involved in the biosynthesis of two nickel-iron-containing hydrogenases and summarizing the mechanisms that regulate hydrogenase expression.

Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 produces two [NiFe] hydrogenases which catalyze the oxidation of hydrogen and enable the organism to utilize H2 as the sole energy source. The genes (hoxK and hoxG) for the heterodimeric, membrane-bound hydrogenase (MBH) are located adjacent to a series of eight accessory genes (hoxZ, hoxM, hoxL, hoxO, hoxQ, hoxR, hoxT, and hoxV). In the present study, we generated a set of isogenic mutants with in-frame deletions in the two structural genes and in each of the eight accessory genes. The resulting mutants can be grouped into two classes on the basis of the H2-oxidizing activity of the MBH. Class I mutants (hoxKdelta, hoxGdelta, hoxMdelta, hoxOdelta, and hoxQdelta) were totally devoid of MBH-mediated, H2-oxidizing activity. The hoxM deletion strain was the only mutant in our collection which was completely blocked in carboxy-terminal processing of large subunit HoxG, indicating that hoxM encodes a specific protease. Class II mutants (hoxZdelta, hoxLdelta, hoxRdelta, hoxTdelta, and hoxVdelta) contained residual amounts of MBH activity in the membrane fraction of the extracts. Immunochemical analysis and 63Ni incorporation experiments revealed that the mutations affect various steps in MBH maturation. A lesion in hoxZ led to the production of a soluble MBH which was highly active with redox dye.