
A model of Photosystem 1 core subunits
Hydrogen is an essential commodity with over 60 million tons produced globally every year. However, more than 95% of it is made by steam reformation of fossil fuels, a process that is energy intensive and produces carbon dioxide. If we could replace even a part of that with algal biohydrogen that is made via light and water, it would have a substantial impact.
This is essentially what has just been achieved in the lab of Kevin Redding, professor in Arizona State University‘s School of Molecular Sciences and director of the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis.
The center’s research, titled “Rewiring photosynthesis: a Photosystem I -hydrogenase chimera that makes hydrogen in vivo,” was published in the high-impact journal Energy and Environmental Science.
“What we have done is to show that it is possible to intercept the high-energy electrons from photosynthesis and use them to drive alternate chemistry, in a living cell,” Redding said. “We have used hydrogen production here as an example.”
“Kevin Redding and his group have made a true breakthrough in reengineering the Photosystem I complex,” said Ian Gould, interim director of the School of Molecular Sciences, which is part of The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “They didn’t just find a way to redirect a complex protein structure that nature designed for one purpose to perform a different, but equally critical process, but they found the best way to do it at the molecular level.”
It is common knowledge that plants and algae, as well as cyanobacteria, use photosynthesis to produce oxygen and “fuels,” the latter being oxidizable substances like carbohydrates and hydrogen. There are two pigment-protein complexes that orchestrate the primary reactions of light in oxygenic photosynthesis: Photosystem I (PSI) and Photosystem II (PSII).
Algae possess an enzyme called hydrogenase that uses electrons it gets from the protein ferredoxin, which is normally used to ferry electrons from PSI to various destinations. A problem is that the algal hydrogenase is rapidly and irreversibly inactivated by oxygen that is constantly produced by PSII.
In this study, doctoral student and first author Andrey Kanygin has created a genetic chimera of PSI and the hydrogenase such that they co-assemble and are active in vivo. This new assembly redirects electrons away from carbon dioxide fixation to the production of biohydrogen.
“We thought that some radically different approaches needed to be taken — thus, our crazy idea of hooking up the hydrogenase enzyme directly to Photosystem I in order to divert a large fraction of the electrons from water splitting, by Photosystem II, to make molecular hydrogen,” Redding said.
Cells expressing the new photosystem (PSI-hydrogenase) make hydrogen at high rates in a light-dependent fashion for several days.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Algal biohydrogen
- New species of microalgae discovered
A new species of microalgae was found in water from a home aquarium. While analyzing DNA samples taken from the algae, researchers discovered Medakamo hakoo, whose DNA sequence didn't match any on ...
- NASA Is Offering Cash Prizes For Finding Toxic Algal Blooms In Space Pictures. See Details
American space agency NASA is offering cash prizes for finding algal blooms in pictures from space. The competition, named "Tick Tick Bloom", asks participants to use satellite imagery to detect ...
- New species of ultrasmall microalgae found in home aquarium could have multiple useful applications
A new species of microalgae was found in water from a home aquarium. While analyzing DNA samples taken from the algae, researchers from the University of Tokyo discovered a DNA sequence that didn ...
- Algae Could Supply Sustainable Protein to a Changing World
Algae might show up on your dinner plate in coming years. As the global human population grows and needs protein to nourish it, algae could become a dietary staple. It offers significant ...
- Humans found to have influenced the growth of blue-green algae in lakes for thousands of years
This is the finding of a study by researchers from the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ and colleagues, published in the journal Communications Biology.Since some blue-green algae, also ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Algal biohydrogen
[google_news title=”” keyword=”algal biohydrogen” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Hydrogen production
- LA council committee probes Scattergood green hydrogen plan
The City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee expressed caution and added several specific recommendations Friday in its consideration of a much-debated plan to shift the Scattergood Generating ...
- LA Council’s energy committee probes Scattergood ‘green hydrogen’ plan
Los Angeles City Council’s energy committee probes controversial Scattergood ‘green hydrogen’ power plant plan.
- Global Hydrogen Inhalers Market Size Growth Rate Analysis 2023 by Production, Revenue, Price, Gross Margin, Countries and Forecast to 2028
Feb 02, 2023 (The Expresswire) -- "Final Report will add the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on this industry." Global “Hydrogen Inhalers Market” ...
- Hydrogen Leak Detection Sensor Market Production Growth, Demand And Supply Analysis 2023 To 2026 | Including 127 Pages Report
Hydrogen Leak Detection Sensor Market 2023 with 127 Pages Report and enhance with extents shares into sub-counties ...
- ABB and Hynamics Collaborate to Reduce Hydrogen Production Cost
ABB and Hynamics, the hydrogen subsidiary of EDF group, have signed an agreement to integrate the ABB Ability OPTIMAX energy management system to optimize hydrogen production costs.
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Hydrogen production
[google_news title=”” keyword=”hydrogen production” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]