Immobilization of Enterobacter aerogenes by a Trimeric Autotransporter Adhesin, AtaA, and Its Application to Biohydrogen Production

Biological hydrogen production by microbial cells has been extensively researched as an energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly process. In this study, we propose a fast, easy method for immobilizing Enterobacter aerogenes by expressing ataA, which encodes the adhesive protein of Acinetobacter sp. Tol 5. AtaA protein on the E. aerogenes cells carrying the ataA gene was demonstrated by immunoblotting and flow cytometry. The AtaA-producing cells exhibited stronger adherence and auto-agglutination characteristics than wild-type cells, and were successfully immobilized (at approximately 2.5 mg/cm³) on polyurethane foam. Hydrogen production from the cell-immobilized polyurethane foams was monitored in repetitive batch reactions and flow reactor studies. The total hydrogen production in triple-repetitive batch reactions reached 0.6 mol/mol glucose, and the hydrogen production rate in the flow reactor was 42 mL·h⁻¹·L⁻¹. The AtaA production achieved simple and immediate immobilization of E. aerogenes on the foam, enabling repetitive and continuous hydrogen production. This report newly demonstrates the production of AtaA on the cell surfaces of bacterial genera other than Acinetobacter, and can simplify and accelerate the immobilization of whole-cell catalysts.