ConspectusNature的原型氢形成催化剂-氢化酶-引起了很多关注,因为它们在接近零的超电势和环境条件下催化氢析出。除了能源领域的任何可能应用之外,氢化酶具有复杂的活性位点,这意味着新的生物合成途径。就辅因子的种类而言,[FeFe]氢化酶是最复杂的。十多年来,我们已经研究了[FeFe]氢化酶活性位点的生物合成。这个网站,H-簇,是由与CO配位的[2Fe]H簇连接的[4Fe-4S]H簇组成的六铁簇,氰化物,和独特的有机氮杂硫醇盐配体。很多年前,三种酶,即,HydG,HydE,HydF,被证明是[FeFe]氢化酶的生物合成和体外成熟所必需的。成熟酶的结构是用晶体学方法确定的,但在生物合成途径上进展甚微。如本账户所述,随着HydG中产生的分子铁-半胱氨酸复合物的鉴定,认真地开始了生物合成途径的阐明。在此帐户中,我们介绍了我们对[2Fe]H生物合成的分子机制的最新进展,使用涉及无细胞生物合成的协作方法,同位素和元素敏感光谱,以及所谓的生物合成中间体的无机合成。我们的研究从自由基SAM酶HydG开始,该酶将酪氨酸裂解为CO和氰化物,并形成含Fe(CO)2(CN)的物种。HydG中独特的辅助5Fe-4S簇的晶体学鉴定导致了拟议的催化循环,其中游离的半胱氨酸螯合的“悬挂物”Fe充当逐步形成[4Fe-4S][Fe(CO)(CN)(半胱氨酸)]中间体的平台,释放出[Fe(CO)2(CN)(半胱氨酸)]产物,络合物B由于络合物B不稳定,我们应用合成有机金属化学来制造类似物,syn-B,并表明它在H簇的体外成熟中完全取代了HydG。Syn-B作为下一个自由基SAM酶HydE的底物,其中低自旋Fe(II)中心被5'-dAdo•激活,形成腺苷化Fe(I)中间体。我们建议这种Fe(I)物种剥离碳主链并在HydE中二聚形成[Fe2(SH)2(CO)4(CN)2]2-产物。使用这种二聚体复合物的合成版本支持这种机制方案,syn-二聚体,这允许仅使用HydF成熟酶形成活性氢化酶。这种半合成策略的进一步应用表明,[Fe2(SCH2NH2)2(CO)4(CN)2]2-复合物可以激活apo氢化酶,将其标记为通往H簇的最后一个生物合成中间体。这种酶和半合成相结合的方法极大地加速了我们对H簇生物合成的理解。我们预计将收集有关H簇生物合成的其他机械细节,该方法可进一步应用于其他复杂金属因子的研究。
ConspectusNature\'s prototypical hydrogen-forming catalysts─hydrogenases─have attracted much attention because they catalyze hydrogen evolution at near zero overpotential and ambient conditions. Beyond any possible applications in the energy sphere, the hydrogenases feature complicated active sites, which implies novel biosynthetic pathways. In terms of the variety of cofactors, the [FeFe]-
hydrogenase is among the most complex.For more than a decade, we have worked on the biosynthesis of the active site of [FeFe] hydrogenases. This site, the H-cluster, is a six-iron ensemble consisting of a [4Fe-4S]H cluster linked to a [2Fe]H cluster that is coordinated to CO, cyanide, and a unique organic azadithiolate ligand. Many years ago, three enzymes, namely, HydG, HydE, and HydF, were shown to be required for the biosynthesis and the in vitro maturation of [FeFe] hydrogenases. The structures of the maturases were determined crystallographically, but still little progress was made on the biosynthetic pathway. As described in this Account, the elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway began in earnest with the identification of a molecular iron-cysteinate complex produced within HydG.In this Account, we present our most recent progress toward the molecular mechanism of [2Fe]H biosynthesis using a collaborative approach involving cell-free biosynthesis, isotope and element-sensitive spectroscopies, as well as inorganic synthesis of purported biosynthetic intermediates. Our study starts from the radical SAM enzyme HydG that lyses tyrosine into CO and cyanide and forms an Fe(CO)2(CN)-containing species. Crystallographic identification of a unique auxiliary 5Fe-4S cluster in HydG leads to a proposed catalytic cycle in which a free cysteine-chelated \"dangler\" Fe serves as the platform for the stepwise formation of a [4Fe-4S][Fe(CO)(CN)(cysteinate)] intermediate, which releases the [Fe(CO)2(CN)(cysteinate)] product, Complex B. Since Complex B is unstable, we applied synthetic organometallic chemistry to make an analogue, syn-B, and showed that it fully replaces HydG in the in vitro maturation of the H-cluster. Syn-B serves as the substrate for the next radical SAM enzyme HydE, where the low-spin Fe(II) center is activated by 5\'-dAdo• to form an adenosylated Fe(I) intermediate. We propose that this Fe(I) species strips the carbon backbone and dimerizes in HydE to form a [Fe2(SH)2(CO)4(CN)2]2- product. This mechanistic scenario is supported by the use of a synthetic version of this dimer complex, syn-dimer, which allows for the formation of active
hydrogenase with only the HydF maturase. Further application of this semisynthesis strategy shows that an [Fe2(SCH2NH2)2(CO)4(CN)2]2- complex can activate the apo
hydrogenase, marking it as the last biosynthetic intermediate en route to the H-cluster. This combined enzymatic and semisynthetic approach greatly accelerates our understanding of H-cluster biosynthesis. We anticipate additional mechanistic details regarding H-cluster biosynthesis to be gleaned, and this methodology may be further applied in the study of other complex metallocofactors.