The discovery could allow oxygen-stable enzymes to be used as hydrogen producers

Hydrogen-producing enzymes are considered the hope of biohydrogen research. However, they are so susceptible to atmospheric oxygen, that they cannot yet be used on a larger scale. The recently discovered [FeFe]-hydrogenase CbA5H from the bacterium Clostridium beijerinckii resists oxygen attack. An international research team from the research group Photobiotechnology of the RUB and the Laboratoire de Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines (CNRS) in Marseille, led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Happe. They describe the molecular mechanism in Nature Communications, Feb. 2, 2021.