The effect of oxygen species on the enzymatic activity of hydrogenase

Hydrogen evolution by photobleached Anabaena cylindrica

We have studied the evolution of hydrogen by photobleached filaments of the heterocystous bluegreen alga Anabaena cylindrica. The photobleached cells became orange-yellow due to the heavy accumulation of carotenoids. We found that the yellow filaments produced much larger amounts of hydrogen than the normal, green ones, while the nitrogenase activity responsible for hydrogen evolution increased to a lesser extent. We suggest that a reversible hydrogenase activity induced in photobleached filaments is responsible for the excess amount of hydrogen. 3-(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea (DCMU) inhibits the hydrogen evolution of the yellow filaments which produce much more oxygen and fix less CO2 than the green filaments. Therefore we consider the water to be a possible electron source for this hydrogenase. The low efficiency of light energy conversion (0.3%) in nitrogenase-catalyzed H2 evolution (Laczkó, 1980 Z. Pflanzenphysiol. 100, 241-245) is increased to 1.5-2% by the appearance of the reversible hydrogenase activity.