Current Progress in Recombinant Systems for Expression of Hydrogenases

Abstract

Hydrogenase enzymes,which catalyze the formation and dissociation of hydrogen are heteromeric metalloenzymes. Mature hydrogenases are usually highly sensitive to oxygen,and the pro-enzymes are not active unless they are modified by a complicated post-transltational maturation process which involves synergized work on catalytic center of the enzymes by related chaprons. Catalytic mechanisms of hydrogenases also plays pivotal role in development of valuable oxygen-resistant biocatalysts for bio-hydrogen production and synthetic hydrogenase mimics applied in green battery industry. Recombinant enzymes are therefore indispensable for enzymes 'structural studies,since acquisition of native enzymes is extremely difficult,and,in some case impossible. This review aims to summarize and analyze recent progress in studies using native or foreign hosts to achive successful expression of recombinant enzymes that are either iron only or Ni Fe containing. Furthermore,the enzymatic features were systematically compared between native and recombinant proteins,and the likely solutions for future works in this area were also proposed.