Acetylene is an active-site-directed, slow-binding, reversible inhibitor of Azotobacter vinelandii hydrogenase

Abstract

The inhibition of purified and membrane-bound hydrogenase from Azotobacter vinelandii by dihydrogen-free acetylene was investigated. The inhibition was a time-dependent process which exhibited first-order kinetics. Both H/sub 2/ and CO protected against the inhibition by acetylene. K/sub protect(app)/ values of 0.41 and 24 ..mu..M were derived for these gases, respectively. Both H/sub 2/-oxidizing activity and the tritium exchange capacity of the purified enzyme were inhibited at the same rate by acetylene. Removal of acetylene reversed the inhibition for both the purified and the membrane-associated form of the enzyme. The purified hydrogenases from both Rhizobium japonicum and Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 were also inhibited by acetylene in a time-dependent fashion. These findings suggest that acetylene is an active-site-directed, slow-binding, reversible inhibitor of some membrane-bound hydrogenases from aerobic bacteria.