O2 Reactions at the Six-iron Active Site (H-cluster) in [FeFe]-Hydrogenase

Abstract Irreversible inhibition by molecular oxygen (O2) complicates the use of [FeFe]-hydrogenases (HydA) for biotechnological hydrogen (H2) production. Modification by O2 of the active site six-iron complex denoted as the H-cluster ([4Fe4S]-2FeH) of HydA1 from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was characterized by x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the iron K-edge. In a time-resolved approach, HydA1 protein samples were prepared after increasing O2 exposure periods at 0 °C. A kinetic analysis of changes in their x-ray absorption near edge structure and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectra revealed three phases of O2 reactions. The first phase (τ1 ≤ 4 s) is characterized by the formation of an increased number of Fe–O,C bonds, elongation of the Fe–Fe distance in the binuclear unit (2FeH), and oxidation of one iron ion. The second phase (τ2 ≈ 15 s) causes a ∼50% decrease of the number of ∼2.7-A Fe–Fe distances in the [4Fe4S] subcluster and the oxidation of one more iron ion. The final phase (τ3 ≤ 1000 s) leads to the disappearance of most Fe–Fe and Fe–S interactions and further iron oxidation. These results favor a reaction sequence, which involves 1) oxygenation at 2FeH+ leading to the formation of a reactive oxygen species-like superoxide (O2−), followed by 2) H-cluster inactivation and destabilization due to ROS attack on the [4Fe4S] cluster to convert it into an apparent [3Fe4S]+ unit, leading to 3) complete O2-induced degradation of the remainders of the H-cluster. This mechanism suggests that blocking of ROS diffusion paths and/or altering the redox potential of the [4Fe4S] cubane by genetic engineering may yield improved O2 tolerance in [FeFe]-hydrogenase.