Facile synthesis of 2-hydroxyacetophenone from racemic styrene oxide catalyzed by engineered enzymes.

We describe a system that allows for biocatalyzed in vivo synthesis of α-hydroxy ketones from racemic epoxide starting material by in vivo co-expression of native and engineered epoxide hydrolase and alcohol dehydrogenases. The constructed expression system exploits the host cell metabolism for supply and regeneration of precious nicotinamide dinucleotide coenzyme. Racemic styrene oxide added to growth medium passively enters the cells and is hydrolyzed into (1R)-phenylethane-1,2-diol, which is subsequently oxidized to the acyloin 2-hydroxyacetophenone. Produced 2-hydroxyacetophenone escapes the cells via passive diffusion into the growth medium. Thus, co-expression of potato epoxide hydrolase and engineered alcohol dehydrogenase variants can be employed for robust and facile production of 2-hydroxyacetophenone from racemic styrene oxide.

Engineering Regioselectivity of a P450 Monooxygenase Enables the Synthesis of Ursodeoxycholic Acid via 7ß-Hydroxylation of Lithocholic Acid.

We engineered the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase CYP107D1 (OleP) from Streptomyces antibioticus for the stereo- and regioselective 7ß-hydroxylation of lithocholic acid (LCA) to yield ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). OleP was previously shown to hydroxylate testosterone at the 7ß-position but LCA is exclusively hydroxylated at the 6ß-position, forming murideoxycholic acid (MDCA). Structural and 3DM analysis, and molecular docking were used to identify amino acid residues F84, S240, and V291 as specificity-determining residues. Alanine scanning identified S240A as a UDCA-producing variant. A synthetic "small but smart" library based on these positions was screened using a colorimetric assay for UDCA. We identified a nearly perfectly regio- and stereoselective triple mutant (F84Q/S240A/V291G) that produces 10-fold higher levels of UDCA than the S240A variant. This biocatalyst opens up new possibilities for the environmentally friendly synthesis of UDCA from the biological waste product LCA.

Directed Evolution of Alcohol Dehydrogenase for Improved Stereoselective Redox Transformations of 1-Phenylethane-1,2-diol and Its Corresponding Acyloin.

Laboratory evolution of alcohol dehydrogenase produced enzyme variants with improved turnover numbers with a vicinal 1,2-diol and its corresponding hydroxyketone. Crystal structure and transient kinetics analysis aids in rationalizing the new functions of these variants.

Exploring the active site of tripeptidyl-peptidase II through studies of pH dependence of reaction kinetics.

Tripeptidyl-peptidase II (TPP II) is a subtilisin-like serine protease which forms a large enzyme complex (>4MDa). It is considered a potential drug target due to its involvement in specific physiological processes. However, information is scarce concerning the kinetic characteristics of TPP II and its active site features, which are important for design of efficient inhibitors. To amend this, we probed the active site by determining the pH dependence of TPP II catalysis. Access to pure enzyme is a prerequisite for kinetic investigations and herein we introduce the first efficient purification system for heterologously expressed mammalian TPP II. The pH dependence of kinetic parameters for hydrolysis of two different chromogenic substrates, Ala-Ala-Phe-pNA and Ala-Ala-Ala-pNA, was determined for murine, human and Drosophila melanogaster TPP II as well as mutant variants thereof. The investigation demonstrated that TPP II, in contrast to subtilisin, has a bell-shaped pH dependence of k(cat)(app)/K(M) probably due to deprotonation of the N-terminal amino group of the substrate at higher pH. Since both the K(M) and k(cat)(app) are lower for cleavage of AAA-pNA than for AAF-pNA we propose that the former can bind non-productively to the active site of the enzyme, a phenomenon previously observed with some substrates for subtilisin. Two mutant variants, H267A and D387G, showed bell-shaped pH-dependence of k(cat)(app), possibly due to an impaired protonation of the leaving group. This work reveals previously unknown differences between TPP II orthologues and subtilisin as well as features that might be conserved within the entire family of subtilisin-like serine peptidases.

The Crystal Structure of Tyrosinase from Verrucomicrobium spinosum Reveals It to Be an Atypical Bacterial Tyrosinase.

Tyrosinases belong to the type-III copper enzyme family, which is involved in melanin production in a wide range of organisms. Despite similar overall characteristics and functions, their structures, activities, substrate specificities and regulation vary. The tyrosinase from the bacterium Verrucomicrobium spinosum (vsTyr) is produced as a pre-pro-enzyme in which a C-terminal extension serves as an inactivation domain. It does not require a caddie protein for copper ion incorporation, which makes it similar to eukaryotic tyrosinases. To gain an understanding of the catalytic machinery and regulation of vsTyr activity, we determined the structure of the catalytically active "core domain" of vsTyr by X-ray crystallography. The analysis showed that vsTyr is an atypical bacterial tyrosinase not only because it is independent of a caddie protein but also because it shows the highest structural (and sequence) similarity to plant-derived members of the type-III copper enzyme family and is more closely related to fungal tyrosinases regarding active site features. By modelling the structure of the pre-pro-enzyme using AlphaFold, we observed that Phe453, located in the C-terminal extension, is appropriately positioned to function as a "gatekeeper" residue. Our findings raise questions concerning the evolutionary origin of vsTyr.

Relaxation of nonproductive binding and increased rate of coenzyme release in an alcohol dehydrogenase increases turnover with a nonpreferred alcohol enantiomer.

Alcohol dehydrogenase A (ADH-A) from Rhodococcus ruber DSM 44541 is a promising biocatalyst for redox transformations of arylsubstituted sec-alcohols and ketones. The enzyme is stereoselective in the oxidation of 1-phenylethanol with a 300-fold preference for the (S)-enantiomer. The low catalytic efficiency with (R)-1-phenylethanol has been attributed to nonproductive binding of this substrate at the active site. Aiming to modify the enantioselectivity, to rather favor the (R)-alcohol, and also test the possible involvement of nonproductive substrate binding as a mechanism in substrate discrimination, we performed directed laboratory evolution of ADH-A. Three targeted sites that contribute to the active-site cavity were exposed to saturation mutagenesis in a stepwise manner and the generated variants were selected for improved catalytic activity with (R)-1-phenylethanol. After three subsequent rounds of mutagenesis, selection and structure-function analysis of isolated ADH-A variants, we conclude: (a) W295 has a key role as a structural determinant in the discrimination between (R)- and (S)-1-phenylethanol and a W295A substitution fundamentally changes the stereoselectivity of the protein. One observable effect is a faster rate of NADH release, which changes the rate-limiting step of the catalytic cycle from coenzyme release to hydride transfer. (b) The obtained change in enantiopreference, from the (S)- to the (R)-alcohol, can be partly explained by a shift in the nonproductive substrate-binding modes. DATABASE: Structural data are available in the Protein Data Bank with accession codes 5o8q for A2, 5o8h for A2C2, 5o9f for A2C3, and 5o9d for A2C2B1.