Hydrogen metabolism is facilitated by the activity of three hydrogenase enzymes. The catalytic core of the [FeFe]-hydrogenase (HydA), called the H-cluster, exists as a [4Fe4S] subcluster linked to a modified 2Fe subcluster. Here, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii HydA was expressed in a genetic background that did not contain the other hydrogenase biosynthetic genes. The structure of this HydA was then solved, revealing the stepwise manner by which the H-cluster is synthesized, and offering insight into how HydA might have evolved.
- David W. Mulder
- Eric S. Boyd
- John W. Peters