Treatment with NaHSO3 greatly enhances photobiological H2 production in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Treatment with NaHSO3 induces a 10-fold increase in H2 photoproduction in the filamentous N2-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120. However, it is unclear whether this treatment also increases H2 photoproduction in green alga. In this study, treatment with 13 mM NaHSO3 resulted in about a 200-fold increase in H2 production in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and this increase was most probably the result of reduced O2 content and enhanced hydrogenase activity. Compared to the conventional strategy of sulfur deprivation, NaHSO3 treatment results in a higher maximum rate of H2 photoproduction, greater efficiency of conversion of light energy into H2, shorter half-time to produce the maximum accumulated H2 levels, and reduced costs because no centrifugation is involved. We therefore conclude that NaHSO3 treatment is an efficient, rapid, and economic strategy for improving photobiological H2 production in the green alga C. reinhardtii.