Evolutionary and Biotechnological Implications of Robust Hydrogenase Activity in Halophilic Strains of Tetraselmis

Although significant advances in H2 photoproduction have recently been realized in fresh water algae (e.g. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii), relatively few studies have focused on H2 production and hydrogenase adaptations in marine or halophilic algae. Salt water organisms likely offer several advantages for biotechnological H2 production due to the global abundance of salt water, decreased H2 and O2 solubility in saline and hypersaline systems, and the ability of extracellular NaCl levels to influence metabolism. We screened unialgal isolates obtained from hypersaline ecosystems in the southwest United States and identified two distinct halophilic strains of the genus Tetraselmis (GSL1 and QNM1) that exhibit both robust fermentative and photo H2-production activities. The influence of salinity (3.5%, 5.5% and 7.0% w/v NaCl) on H2 production was examined during anoxic acclimation, with the greatest in vivo H2-production rates observed at 7.0% NaCl. These Tetraselmis strains maintain robust hydrogenase activity even after 24 h of anoxic acclimation and show increased hydrogenase activity relative to C. reinhardtii after extended anoxia. Transcriptional analysis of Tetraselmis GSL1 enabled sequencing of the cDNA encoding the FeFe-hydrogenase structural enzyme (HYDA) and its maturation proteins (HYDE, HYDEF and HYDG). In contrast to freshwater Chlorophyceae, the halophilic Tetraselmis GSL1 strain likely encodes a single HYDA and two copies of HYDE, one of which is fused to HYDF. Phylogenetic analyses of HYDA and concatenated HYDA, HYDE, HYDF and HYDG in Tetraselmis GSL1 fill existing knowledge gaps in the evolution of algal hydrogenases and indicate that the algal hydrogenases sequenced to date are derived from a common ancestor. This is consistent with recent hypotheses that suggest fermentative metabolism in the majority of eukaryotes is derived from a common base set of enzymes that emerged early in eukaryotic evolution with subsequent losses in some organisms.