Purification and properties of the membrane-bound hydrogenase from N 2-fixing Alcaligenes latus

Abstract

The nitrogen-fixing, aerobic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Alcaligenes latus forms hydrogenase when growing lithoautotrophically with hydrogen as electron donor and carbon dioxide as sole carbon source or when growing heterotrophically with N 2 as sole nitrogen source. The hydrogenase is membrane-bound and relatively oxygen-sensitive. The enzymes formed under both conditions are identical on the basis of the following criteria: molecular mass, mobility in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, K m value for hydrogen (methylene blue reduction), stability properties, localization, and cross-reactivity to antibodies raised against the ‘autotropic’ hydrogenase. The hydrogenase was solubilized by Triton X-100 and deoxycholate treatment and purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and chromatography on Phenyl-Sepharose Cl-4B, DEAE-Sephacel and Matrix Gel Red A under hydrogen to homogeneity to a specific activity of 113 μmol H 2 oxidized/min per mg protein (methylene blue reduction). SDS gel electrophoresis revealed two nonidentical subunits of molecular weights of 67 000 and 34 000, corresponding to a total molecular weight of 101 000. The pure enzyme was able to reduce FAD, FMN, riboflavin, flavodoxin isolated from Megasphaera elsdenii, menadione and horse heart cytochrome c as well as various artificial electron acceptors. The reversibility of the hydrogenase function was demonstrated by H 2 evolution from reduced methyl viologen.