Hydrogen production by draTGB hupL double mutant of Rhodospirillum rubrum under different light conditions

To increase H2 yield of Rhodospirillum rubrum in two-stage hydrogen production process, two deletion mutants were constructed. One is single mutant designated R. rubrum UR801 that deleted hupL gene encoding the large subunit of uptake hy- drogenase, and the other is a double mutant desig- nated R. rubrum UR805 lacked both draTGB encod- ing regulators for the activity of nitrogenase and hupL. Comparing H2 yields of two mutants with R. rubrum UR2 (wild type) and UR472 (ΔdraTGB) under differ- ent light conditions, the results showed that the H2 yield of R. rubrum UR801 under continuous light is the highest (5700 mL of H2 per liter culture), and it is 1.56, 2.24 and 2.32-fold that of R. rubrum UR2, UR472 and UR805, respectively. However, the total H2 yield of R. rubrum UR805 in two-stage hydrogen production process is the highest (4303 mL/L), and it is 1.35, 1.21 and 1.04-fold that of R. rubrum UR2, UR801 and UR472, respectively. Thus, R. rubrum UR805 might be a valuable strain to produce a large amount of hydrogen in two-stage hydrogen produc- tion process.