H,-forming N',N"'-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin dehydrogenase from methanogenic Archaea, which is a novel hydrogenase containing neither nickel nor iron-sulfur clusters, catalyzes the reversible reduction of N5,N"'-methenyltetrahydomethanopterin (CH=H,MPT.') with H, to N',N"'-methylenetetrahydromethanopterin (CH,=H,MPT) and a proton (AGO' = -5.5 kJ/mol). The enzyme also catalyzes a CH-H,MPT+-dependent H,/H' exchange. We report here on kinetic deuterium isotope effects in these reactions. When CH=H,MPT' reduction was performed with DZ instead of H2, V,,,., and the K,,, did not change. A primary isotope effect of 1 was found at all pH and temperatures tested and independent of whether H,O or DZO was the solvent. The findings indicate that a step other than the activation of H, was rate-determining in CH=H,MPT+ reduction with H,. This was substantiated by the observation that also the CH=H,MPT+-dependent H,/H+ exchange reaction did not exhibit an appreciable deuterium isotope effect. V,,,,, for CH,=H,MPT dehydrogenation to CH-H,MPT+ and H2 was only 2-3 times higher than for CD2=H,MPT dehydrogenation to CD-H,MPT' and HD. Such a small primary isotope effect indicates that the breakage of the C-H bond in the methylene group of CH2=H,MPT was only rate-limiting when hydrogen was substituted by a deuterium.