Purification and properties of membrane-bound hydrogenase from Azotobacter vinelandii

Uptake hydrogenase (EC 1.12) from Azotobacter vinelandii has been purified 250-fold from membrane preparations. Purification involved selective solubilization of the enzyme from the membranes, followed by successive chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, Sephadex G-100, and hydroxylapatite. Freshly isolated hydrogenase showed a specific activity of 110 mumol of H2 uptake (min X mg of protein)-1. The purified hydrogenase still contained two minor contaminants that ran near the front on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. The enzyme appears to be a monomer of molecular weight near 60,000 +/- 3,000. The pI of the protein is 5.8 +/- 0.2. With methylene blue or ferricyanide as the electron acceptor (dyes such as methyl or benzyl viologen with negative midpoint potentials did not function), the enzyme had pH optima at pH 9.0 or 6.0, respectively, It has a temperature optimum at 65 to 70 degrees C, and the measured half-life for irreversible inactivation at 22 degrees C by 20% O2 was 20 min. The enzyme oxidizes H2 in the presence of an electron acceptor and also catalyzes the evolution of H2 from reduced methyl viologen; at the optimal pH of 3.5, 3.4 mumol of H2 was evolved (min X mg of protein)-1. The uptake hydrogenase catalyzes a slow deuterium-water exchange in the absence of an electron acceptor, and the highest rate was observed at pH 6.0. The Km values varied widely for different electron acceptors, whereas the Km for H2 remained virtually constant near 1 to 2 microM, independent of the electron acceptors.