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Enzymes

Nailing down hydrogenase

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Aerobic inactivation of hydrogenases is a serious limitation to applications of the enzyme in biotechnology and has been extensively studied. A recent investigation combining electrochemical and spectroscopic methods shows that the molecular species that form as a result of exposure to O2 can be formed anaerobically and thus cannot involve incorporation of oxygen in the enzyme.

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Figure 1: The structure of the Ni,Fe active site of Desulfovibrio gigas hydrogenase in a reduced form.

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Correspondence to Michael J. Maroney.

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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Maroney, M. Nailing down hydrogenase. Nat Chem Biol 9, 11–12 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.1139

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