Heterologous expression of proteorhodopsin enhances H2 production in Escherichia coli when endogenous Hyd-4 is overexpressed.

Proteorhodopsin (PR) is a light harvesting protein widely distributed among bacterioplankton that plays an integral energetic role in a new pathway of marine light capture. The conversion of light into chemical energy in non-chlorophyll-based bacterial systems could contribute to overcoming thermodynamic and metabolic constraints in biofuels production. In an attempt to improve biohydrogen production yields, H2 evolution catalyzed by endogenous hydrogenases, Hyd-3 and/or Hyd-4, was measured when recombinant proteorhodopsin (PR) was concomitantly expressed in Escherichia coli cells.