Cyanobacteria are considered good models for biohydrogen production because they are relatively simple organisms with a demonstrable ability to generate H2 under certain physiological conditions. However, most produce only little H2, revert readily to H2 consumption, and suffer from hydrogenase sensitivity to O2. Strains of the cyanobacteria Lyngbya aestuarii and Microcoleus chthonoplastes obta...

The human asialoglycoprotein receptor is a heterooligomer of the two homologous subunits H1 and H2. As occurs for other oligomeric receptors, not all of the newly made subunits are assembled in the RER into oligomers and some of each chain is degraded. We studied the degradation of the unassembled H2 subunit in fibroblasts that only express H2 (45,000 mol wt) and degrade all of it. After a 30 m...

Transgenic restoration of normally absent H2-E MHC class II molecules on APC dominantly inhibits T cell-mediated autoimmune diabetes (IDDM) in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. We analyzed the minimal requirements for transgenic H2-E expression on APC subtypes (B lymphocytes vs macrophages/dendritic cells (DC)) to inhibit IDDM. This issue was addressed through the use of NOD stocks transgenically e...

We present a determination of the molecular gas mass in the AU Microscopii circumstellar disk. Direct detection of a gas component to the AU Mic disk has proven elusive, with upper limits derived from ultraviolet absorption line and submillimeter CO emission studies. Fluorescent emission lines of H2, pumped by the O VI λ1032 resonance line through the C–X (1 – 1) Q(3) λ1031.87 Å transition, are...

In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells, H2 photoproduction can be induced in conditions of sulfur deprivation in the presence of acetate. The decrease in photosystem II (PSII) activity induced by sulfur deprivation leads to anoxia, respiration becoming higher than photosynthesis, thereby allowing H2 production. Two different electron transfer pathways, one PSII dependent and the other PSII independ...

High-affinity hydrogen (H2 )-oxidizing bacteria possessing group 5 [NiFe]-hydrogenase genes are important contributors to atmospheric H2 uptake in soil environments. Although previous studies reported the occurrence of a significant H2 uptake activity in vegetation, there has been no report on the identification and diversity of the responsible microorganisms. Here, we show the existence of pla...

Non-autotrophic ( Aut -) mutants of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata B10 were tested for their efficiency of nitrogenase-mediated H2 production. Three of these mutants ( IR3 , IR4 and IR5 ) showed an increase stoichiometry of H2 production, mediated by nitrogenase, from certain organic substrates. For example, in a medium containing 7 mM-L-glutamate as nitrogen source, strain IR4 produced 10-20% more...