Effects of the deletion of hup genes encoding the uptake hydrogenase on the activity of hydrogen production in the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus IL144

[摘要] The efficiency of hydrogen gas production by nitrogenase in bacteria has been improved by the inhibition of antagonistic activity by the uptake hydrogenase. In this study, a mutant lacking the gene coding for the uptake hydrogenase was generated from the photosynthetic beta-proteobacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus IL144 to explore new ways of hydrogen gas production driven by light energy. The mutant cells produced 25–30% higher amounts of molecular hydrogen than the wild-type cells under nitrogen-deficient conditions under light. Furthermore, by the addition of 5 mM glutamate, the photosynthetic growth rate was greatly enhanced, and the hydrogen gas production activity reached 41.1 (mmol/l) in the mutant.

[学科分类] 微生物学和免疫学

[关键词] hydrogen gas production;nitrogenase;Rubrivivax gelatinosus strain IL144;uptake hydrogenase