[NiFe]-hydrogenase accessory proteins HypC and HypD form a complex that binds a Fe–(CN)2CO moiety and CO2. In this study two HypC homologues from Escherichia coli were purified under strictly anaerobic conditions and both contained sub-stoichiometric amounts of iron (approx. 0.3 mol Fe/mol HypC). Infrared spectroscopic analysis identified a signature at 2337 cm−1 indicating bound CO2. Aerobically isolated HypC lacked both Fe and CO2. Exchange of either of the highly conserved amino acid residues Cys2 or His51 abolished both Fe- and CO2-binding. Our results suggest that HypC delivers CO2 bound directly to Fe for reduction to CO by HypD.
