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Hydrogen production under salt stress conditions by a freshwater Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain

  • Bioenergy and biofuels
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Abstract

Hydrogen represents a possible alternative energy carrier to face the growing request for energy and the shortage of fossil fuels. Photofermentation for the production of H2 constitutes a promising way for integrating the production of energy with waste treatments. Many wastes are characterized by high salinity, and polluted seawater can as well be considered as a substrate. Moreover, the application of seawater for bacterial culturing is considered cost-effective. The aims of this study were to assess the capability of the metabolically versatile freshwater Rhodopseudomonas palustris 42OL of producing hydrogen on salt-containing substrates and to investigate its salt stress response strategy, never described before. R. palustris 42OL was able to produce hydrogen in media containing up to 3 % added salt concentration and to grow in media containing up to 4.5 % salinity without the addition of exogenous osmoprotectants. While the hydrogen production performances in absence of sea salts were higher than in their presence, there was no significant difference in performances between 1 and 2 % of added sea salts. Nitrogenase expression levels indicated that the enzyme was not directly inhibited during salt stress, but a regulation of its expression may have occurred in response to salt concentration increase. During cell growth and hydrogen production in the presence of salts, trehalose was accumulated as a compatible solute; it protected the enzymatic functionality against salt stress, thus allowing hydrogen production. The possibility of producing hydrogen on salt-containing substrates widens the range of wastes that can be efficiently used in production processes.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Maura Calvani for her support in running western blotting analysis. The authors acknowledge CNR (Italian National Research Council) (EFOR project) and Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze (Project HYDROLAB2) for funding the fellowship to AA. RDP would also like to mention the contribution given to his activities by the participation in the IEA-HIA (International Energy Agency - Hydrogen Implementation Agreement), Annex 34.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences, University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 24, 50144, Florence, Italy

    Alessandra Adessi, Margherita Concato, Andrea Sanchini, Federico Rossi & Roberto De Philippis

  2. Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds (ICCOM), CNR, via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy

    Alessandra Adessi & Roberto De Philippis

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  1. Alessandra Adessi
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  2. Margherita Concato
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  3. Andrea Sanchini
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  4. Federico Rossi
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  5. Roberto De Philippis
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Correspondence to Roberto De Philippis.

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Adessi, A., Concato, M., Sanchini, A. et al. Hydrogen production under salt stress conditions by a freshwater Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 100, 2917–2926 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-7291-4

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