Recombinant antibodies for specific detection of clostridial [Fe-Fe] hydrogenases

Biological hydrogen production is based on activity of specific enzymes called hydrogenases. Hydrogenases are oxygen sensitive metalloenzymes containing Ni and/or Fe atoms at the active site, catalyzing reversible reduction of protons. Generally, [Fe-Fe] hydrogenases prefer proton reduction to molecular hydrogen, a potential energy carrier molecule that can be produced by bioprocesses in sustainable manner. Thus, monitoring tools have been developed to study the relationship between [Fe-Fe] hydrogenases and biohydrogen production in bioreactors at DNA and RNA levels. In the present study, novel molecular tools are introduced for quantitative monitoring of clostridial [Fe-Fe] hydrogenases at the protein level. Aerobic and anaerobic biopanning (for inactive and active [Fe-Fe] hydrogenase, respectively) of phage displayed single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibody libraries aided in isolating nine potential scFvs. The enriched antibodies demonstrated high specificity towards Clostridium spp. [Fe-Fe] hydrogenases allowing detection from pure and mixed cultures. Additionally, the antibodies showed different binding characteristics towards hydrogenase catalytic states, providing a possible means for functional detection of clostridial [Fe-Fe] hydrogenases. From hydrogenase-antibody interaction studies we observed that though antibody binding reduced the enzyme catalytic activity, it facilitated to retain hydrogen evolution from oxygen exposed hydrogenases.