Site-selective X-ray spectroscopy discriminated the cubane and diiron units in the H-cluster of [FeFe]-hydrogenase revealing its electronic and structural configurations.

[FeFe]-hydrogenase (H 2 ase) 4 proteins are the most active biological catalysts for the production of molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) from proton reduction, with reported turnover rates of up to 10 4 s Ϫ1 (1, 2). Therefore, these enzymes are of high interest for biotechnology, aiming at the generation of H 2 as a renewable fuel (1, 3-5). However, a severe limitation for such applications is the rapid inactivation of [FeFe]-H 2 ases by dioxygen (O 2 ) (6, 7). Understanding the mechanism of O 2 -induced inactivation may allow the improvement of enzyme features to yield increased O 2 tolerance (e.g. by genetic engineering, which has already been demonstrated for NiFe hydrogenases) (8 -10).[FeFe]-H 2 ases are found in certain bacteria and green algae (11, 12). All of these enzymes contain an active site that consists of an inorganic iron complex, which is denoted as the H-cluster (13-15). The [FeFe]-H 2 ase enzymes from anaerobic bacteria in addition bind several iron-sulfur (FeS) clusters, serving as a relay for electron transfer to and from the active site (13-15).[FeFe]-H 2 ases from green algae represent the minimal unit for biological H 2 production because they contain only the H-cluster, whereas accessory FeS clusters are absent (16). This feature renders these enzymes most suitable for spectroscopic investigations on O 2 -induced inactivation (17), focusing on the active site reactions. The general structure of the H-cluster has been unraveled by crystallography, x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), EPR, and FTIR spectroscopy on H 2 ase protein from various organisms (18). The H-cluster structure in both bacteria and green algae appears to be similar overall (16,19,20). It features a [4Fe4S] cubane cluster, which is bound by four cysteine residues to the protein and is linked by one of them to a binuclear iron unit (2Fe H ) (Fig. 1). The latter carries two cyanide (CN Ϫ ) ligands and three carbon monoxide (CO) ligands (21, 22) and presumably an azadithiolate group (adt; (SCH 2 ) 2 NH) in the metal-bridging position (21,23,24). Both types of diatomic ligands are probably derived from a biosynthetic pathway starting with tyrosine (25-27). The nitrogen atom of the adt has been proposed to be involved in proton transfer at the active site (21, 28). The H-cluster structure is assembled in a complex reaction involving three maturation proteins (29 -34). H 2 formation has been proposed to involve the binding and reduction of a single proton, which transiently creates a hydride ligand, either located in a bridging position between the two iron ions or terminally bound at the distal iron ion of the 2Fe H moiety (Fig. 1). After a second protonation step, H 2 is released from the H-cluster (35)(36)(37) 4 The abbreviations used are: H 2 ase, hydrogenase; adt, azadithiolate; EXAFS, extended x-ray absorption fine structure; NaDT, sodium dithionite; ROS, reactive oxygen species; XANES, x-ray absorption near edge structure; XAS, x-ray absorption spectroscopy; FT, Fourier transform.

[FeFe]-hydrogenase from green algae (HydA1) is the most efficient hydrogen (H2) producing enzyme in nature and of prime interest for (bio)technology. Its active site is a unique six-iron center (H-cluster) composed of a cubane cluster, [4Fe4S]H, cysteine-linked to a diiron unit, [2Fe]H, which carries unusual carbon monoxide (CO) and cyanide ligands and a bridging azadithiolate group. We have probed the molecular and electronic configurations of the H-cluster in functional oxidized, reduced, and super-reduced or CO-inhibited HydA1 protein, in particular searching for intermediates with iron-hydride bonds. Site-selective X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy were used to distinguish between low- and high-spin iron sites in the two subcomplexes of the H-cluster. The experimental methods and spectral simulations were calibrated using synthetic model complexes with ligand variations and bound hydride species. Distinct X-ray spectroscopic signatures of electronic excitation or decay transitions in [4Fe4S]H and [2Fe]H were obtained, which were quantitatively reproduced by density functional theory calculations, thereby leading to specific H-cluster model structures. We show that iron-hydride bonds are absent in the reduced state, whereas only in the super-reduced state, ligand rotation facilitates hydride binding presumably to the Fe-Fe bridging position at [2Fe]H. These results are in agreement with a catalytic cycle involving three main intermediates and at least two protonation and electron transfer steps prior to the H2 formation chemistry in [FeFe]-hydrogenases.

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