Amazing stuff!
Will hydrogen become a viable alternative source of energy?
With hydrogen keep in mind: The Hindenburg Disaster of 1937! Hydrogen is dangerous, but human ingenuity will eventually learn to handle hydrogen safely.
"New research has redefined our understanding of how archaea – our 2-billion-year-old microbial ancestors – used hydrogen gas to produce energy. ...
There are 3 main domains of life on Earth: Eukarya, Archaea and Bacteria. ...
The team analysed the genomes of thousands of archaea and found they use unusual enzymes called [FeFe]-hydrogenases. Before this research, it was thought these enzymes were only produced by eukaryotes and bacteria.
And the archaeans’ hydrogen-using enzymes are the smallest and most complex. ..."
There are 3 main domains of life on Earth: Eukarya, Archaea and Bacteria. ...
The team analysed the genomes of thousands of archaea and found they use unusual enzymes called [FeFe]-hydrogenases. Before this research, it was thought these enzymes were only produced by eukaryotes and bacteria.
And the archaeans’ hydrogen-using enzymes are the smallest and most complex. ..."
"... The findings, published today in Cell, explain how these tiny lifeforms make energy by consuming and producing hydrogen. This simple but dependable strategy has allowed them to thrive in some of Earth’s most hostile environments for billions of years. ...
The most widely accepted scientific theory also suggests that eukaryotes, such as humans, evolved from a very ancient lineage of archaea merging with a bacteria cell through exchanging hydrogen gas. ...
The archaea making these hydrogen-using enzymes were found in many of Earth’s most challenging environments, including hot springs, oil reservoirs, and deep beneath the seafloor. ..."
The most widely accepted scientific theory also suggests that eukaryotes, such as humans, evolved from a very ancient lineage of archaea merging with a bacteria cell through exchanging hydrogen gas. ...
The team analysed the genomes of thousands of archaea for hydrogen-producing enzymes and then produced the enzymes in the lab to study their characteristics. They discovered that some archaea use unusual types of enzymes called [FeFe]-hydrogenases.
From the highlights and abstract:
"Highlights
• Archaea from nine different phyla encode structurally diverse [FeFe] hydrogenases
• Active ultraminimal [FeFe] hydrogenases are produced by uncultured DPANN archaea
• Ancient hybrid [FeFe] and [NiFe] hydrogenases are encoded by diverse archaea
• Hydrogen-producing Asgard archaeal cultures express [FeFe] hydrogenases
Summary
Microbial hydrogen (H2) cycling underpins the diversity and functionality of diverse anoxic ecosystems. Among the three evolutionarily distinct hydrogenase superfamilies responsible, [FeFe] hydrogenases were thought to be restricted to bacteria and eukaryotes. Here, we show that anaerobic archaea encode diverse, active, and ancient lineages of [FeFe] hydrogenases through combining analysis of existing and new genomes with extensive biochemical experiments. [FeFe] hydrogenases are encoded by genomes of nine archaeal phyla and expressed by H2-producing Asgard archaeon cultures. We report an ultraminimal hydrogenase in DPANN archaea that binds the catalytic H-cluster and produces H2. Moreover, we identify and characterize remarkable hybrid complexes formed through the fusion of [FeFe] and [NiFe] hydrogenases in ten other archaeal orders. Phylogenetic analysis and structural modeling suggest a deep evolutionary history of hybrid hydrogenases. These findings reveal new metabolic adaptations of archaea, streamlined H2 catalysts for biotechnological development, and a surprisingly intertwined evolutionary history between the two major H2-metabolizing enzymes."
Scientists unlock secrets of how the third form of life makes energy (original press release)
Minimal and hybrid hydrogenases are active from archaea (open access)
Graphical abstract
Figure 1 Phylogenetically and metabolically diverse archaea encode [FeFe] hydrogenases
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