[Fe]‐Hydrogenase, Cofactor Biosynthesis and Engineering

Abstract

Abstract[Fe]‐hydrogenase catalyzes the heterolytic cleavage of H2 and reversible hydride transfer to methenyl‐tetrahydromethanopterin. The iron‐guanylylpyridinol (FeGP) cofactor is the prosthetic group of this enzyme, in which mononuclear Fe(II) is ligated with a pyridinol and two CO ligands. The pyridinol ligand fixes the iron by an acyl carbon and a pyridinol nitrogen. Biosynthetic proteins for this cofactor are encoded in the hmd co‐occurring (hcg) genes. The function of HcgB, HcgC, HcgD, HcgE, and HcgF was studied by using structure‐to‐function analysis, which is based on the crystal structure of the proteins and subsequent enzyme assays. Recently, we reported the catalytic properties of HcgA and HcgG, novel radical S‐adenosyl methionine enzymes, by using an in vitro biosynthesis assay. Here, we review the properties of [Fe]‐hydrogenase and the FeGP cofactor, and the biosynthesis of the FeGP cofactor. Finally, we discuss the expected engineering of [Fe]‐hydrogenase and the FeGP cofactor.