[NiFe] hydrogenase catalyzes reversible oxidation of molecular hydrogen. Its active site is constructed of a hetero dinuclear Ni-Fe complex, and the oxidation state of the Ni ion changes according to the redox state of the enzyme. We found that the Ni-A state (an inactive unready, oxidized state) of [NiFe] hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F (DvMF) is light sensitive and forms a new state (Ni-AL) with irradiation of visible light The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) bands at 1956, 2084 and 2094 cm(-1) of the Ni-A state shifted to 1971, 2086 and 2098 cm(-1) in the Ni-AL state. The g-values of g(x) = 2.30, g(y) = 2.23 and g(z) = 2.01 for the signals in the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum of the Ni-A state at room temperature varied for -0.009, +0.012 and +0.010, respectively, upon light irradiation. The light-induced Ni-AL state converted back immediately to the Ni-A state under dark condition at room temperature. These results show that the coordination structure of the Fe site of the Ni-A state of [NiFe] hydrogenase is perturbed significantly by light irradiation with relatively small coordination change at the Ni site. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.