Ene-reductase transformation of massoia lactone to δ-decalactone in a continuous-flow reactor.

The demand for natural food flavorings increases every year. Biotransformation has become an attractive approach to obtain natural products. In this work, enantiomerically pure (R)-(+)-δ-decalactone was obtained by reduction of the C=C double bond of natural massoia lactone in a continuous-flow reactor. Of 13 different ene-reductases isolated, purified and tested, OYE3 was found to be the most efficient biocatalyst. The selected biocatalyst, either in the form of purified enzyme, cell lysate, whole cells or immobilized cells, was tested in the batch system as well as in the packed-bed flow bioreactor. The biotransformation performed in batch mode, using Ca2+-alginate immobilized cells of Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)/pET30a-OYE3, furnished the desired product with complete conversion in 30 min. The process was intensified using a continuous-flow reactor-membrane filtration system (flow 0.1 mL/min, substrate concentration 10 mM, pH 7, 24 °C) with cell lysate as biocatalyst combined with a cofactor regeneration system, which allowed obtaining > 99% bioconversion of massoia lactone.

Construction and characterization of a novel glucose dehydrogenase-leucine dehydrogenase fusion enzyme for the biosynthesis of L-tert-leucine.

BACKGROUND: Biosynthesis of L-tert-leucine (L-tle), a significant pharmaceutical intermediate, by a cofactor regeneration system friendly and efficiently is a worthful goal all the time. The cofactor regeneration system of leucine dehydrogenase (LeuDH) and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) has showed great coupling catalytic efficiency in the synthesis of L-tle, however the multi-enzyme complex of GDH and LeuDH has never been constructed successfully. RESULTS: In this work, a novel fusion enzyme (GDH-R3-LeuDH) for the efficient biosynthesis of L-tle was constructed by the fusion of LeuDH and GDH mediated with a rigid peptide linker. Compared with the free enzymes, both the environmental tolerance and thermal stability of GDH-R3-LeuDH had a great improved since the fusion structure. The fusion structure also accelerated the cofactor regeneration rate and maintained the enzyme activity, so the productivity and yield of L-tle by GDH-R3-LeuDH was all enhanced by twofold. Finally, the space-time yield of L-tle catalyzing by GDH-R3-LeuDH whole cells could achieve 2136 g/L/day in a 200 mL scale system under the optimal catalysis conditions (pH 9.0, 30 °C, 0.4 mM of NAD+ and 500 mM of a substrate including trimethylpyruvic acid and glucose). CONCLUSIONS: It is the first report about the fusion of GDH and LeuDH as the multi-enzyme complex to synthesize L-tle and reach the highest space-time yield up to now. These results demonstrated the great potential of the GDH-R3-LeuDH fusion enzyme for the efficient biosynthesis of L-tle.

An Unprecedented Ring-Contraction Mechanism in Cobalamin-Dependent Radical S-Adenosylmethionine Enzymes.

A unique member of the family of cobalamin (Cbl)-dependent radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzymes, OxsB, catalyzes the ring constriction of deoxyadenosine triphosphate (dATP) to the base oxetane aldehyde phosphate, a crucial precursor for oxetanocin A (OXT-A), which is an antitumor, antiviral, and antibacterial compound. This enzyme reveals a new catalytic function for this big family that is different from the common methylation. On the basis of density functional theory calculations, a mechanism has been proposed to mainly include that the generation of 5'-deoxyadenosine radical, a hydrogen transfer forming 2'-dATP radical, and a Cbl-catalyzed ring contraction of the deoxyribose in 2'-dATP radical. The ring contraction is a concerted rearrangement step accompanied by an electron transfer from the deoxyribose hydroxyl oxygen to CoIII without any ring-opening intermediate. CoIICbl has been ruled out as an active state. Other mechanistic characteristics are also revealed. This unprecedented non-methylation mechanism provides a new catalytic repertoire for the family of radical SAM enzymes, representing a new class of ring-contraction enzymes.

Circular permutation of a bacterial tyrosinase enables efficient polyphenol-specific oxidation and quantitative preparation of orobol.

Tyrosinase is a type 3 copper oxygenase that catalyzes a phenol moiety into ortho-diphenol, and subsequently to ortho-quinone. Diverse tyrosinases have been observed across the kingdom including Animalia, Bacteria, Plantae, and Fungi. Among the tyrosinases, bacterial, and mushroom tyrosinases have been extensively exploited to prepare melanin, ortho-hydroxy-polyphenols, or novel plant secondary metabolites during the past decade. And their use as a biocatalyst to prepare various functional biocompounds have drawn great attention worldwide. Herein, we tailored a bacterial tyrosinase from Bacillus megaterium (BmTy) using circular permutation (CP) engineering technique which is a novel enzyme engineering technique to covalently link original N and C termini and create new termini on the middle of its polypeptide. To construct a smart rationally-designed CP library, we introduced 18 new termini at the edge of each nine loops that link α-helical secondary structure in BmTy. Among the small library, seven functional CP variants were successfully identified and they represented dramatic change in their enzyme characteristics including kinetic properties and substrate specificity. Especially, cp48, 102, and 245 showed dramatically decreased tyrosine hydroxylase activity, behaving like a catechol oxidase. Exploiting the dramatic increased polyphenol oxidation activity of cp48, orobol (3'-hydroxy-genistein) was quantitatively synthesized with 1.48 g/L, which was a 6-fold higher yield of truncated wild-type. We examined their kinetic characters through structural speculation, and suggest a strategy to solubilize the insoluble artificial variants effectively.

Enzymatic Activation of the Emerging Drug Resveratrol.

The plant originated stilbene "resveratrol" (3,4',5-trans-trihydroxystilbene) is well known for its diverse health benefits including anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-oxidant properties. Besides a significant amount of reports on different aspects of its application as prodrug in the last 50 years, still, a strategy leading to the production of the active drug is missing. The aim of this work was to evaluate the enzymatic activation of prodrug resveratrol to the effective drug piceatannol, without engaging expensive cofactors. Five different heme proteins were analyzed for the transformation of resveratrol. Kinetic parameters of resveratrol transformation and analysis of the transformed products were conducted through HPLC and GC-MS. Effect of pH and organic solvent on the transformation process had also been evaluated. Among all tested heme proteins, only a variant of cytochrome P450BM3 from Bacillus megaterium (CYPBM3F87A) was found suitable for piceatannol production. The most suitable pH for the reaction conditions was 8.5, while organic solvents did not show any effect on transformation. For resveratrol transformation, the turnover rate (k cat) was 21.7 (± 0.6) min-1, the affinity constant (K M) showed a value of 55.7 (± 16.7) µM for a catalytic efficiency (k cat/K M) of 389 min-1 mM-1. GC-MS analysis showed that the only product from resveratrol transformation by cytochrome P450BM3 is the biologically active piceatannol. The enzymatic transformation of resveratrol, an emerging compound with medical interest, to active product piceatannol by a variant of cytochrome P450BM3 in the absence of expensive NADPH cofactor is demonstrated. This enzymatic process is economically attractive and can be scaled up to cover the increasing medical demand for piceatannol.

Enantioselective Biosynthesis of l-Phenyllactic Acid by Whole Cells of Recombinant Escherichia coli.

BACKGROUND: l-Phenyllactic acid (l-PLA)-a valuable building block in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry-has recently emerged as an important monomer in the composition of the novel degradable biocompatible material of polyphenyllactic acid. However, both normally chemically synthesized and naturally occurring phenyllactic acid are racemic, and the product yields of reported l-PLA synthesis processes remain unsatisfactory. METHODS: We developed a novel recombinant Escherichia coli strain, co-expressing l-lactate dehydrogenase (l-LDH) from Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) from Bacillus megaterium, to construct a recombinant oxidation/reduction cycle for whole-cell biotransformation of phenylpyruvic acid (PPA) into chiral l-PLA in an enantioselective and continuous manner. RESULTS: During fed-batch bioconversion with intermittent PPA feeding, l-PLA yield reached 103.8 mM, with an excellent enantiomeric excess of 99.7%. The productivity of l-PLA was as high as 5.2 mM·h-1 per OD600 (optical density at 600 nm) of whole cells. These results demonstrate the efficient production of l-PLA by the one-pot biotransformation system. Therefore, this stereoselective biocatalytic process might be a promising alternative for l-PLA production.

Structural studies of domain movement in active-site mutants of porphobilinogen deaminase from Bacillus megaterium.

The enzyme porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD) is one of the key enzymes in tetrapyrrole biosynthesis. It catalyses the formation of a linear tetrapyrrole from four molecules of the substrate porphobilinogen (PBG). It has a dipyrromethane cofactor (DPM) in the active site which is covalently linked to a conserved cysteine residue through a thioether bridge. The substrate molecules are linked to the cofactor in a stepwise head-to-tail manner during the reaction, which is catalysed by a conserved aspartate residue: Asp82 in the B. megaterium enzyme. Three mutations have been made affecting Asp82 (D82A, D82E and D82N) and their crystal structures have been determined at resolutions of 2.7, 1.8 and 1.9 Å, respectively. These structures reveal that whilst the D82E mutant possesses the DPM cofactor, in the D82N and D82A mutants the cofactor is likely to be missing, incompletely assembled or disordered. Comparison of the mutant PBGD structures with that of the wild-type enzyme shows that there are significant domain movements and suggests that the enzyme adopts `open' and `closed' conformations, potentially in response to substrate binding.

PEGylation of cytochrome P450 enhances its biocatalytic performance for pesticide transformation.

Pesticide intoxication is a major public health concern, and unfortunately there is not an effective treatment for severe organophosphorus pesticide intoxication. In this work, a non-immunogenic enzymatic bioconjugate based on cytochrome P450 was assayed for organophosphorus pesticide transformation. Enzyme therapy is an alternative approach to inactivate pesticides in the bloodstream, transforming them into less toxic metabolites. A variant of cytochrome P450 (CYPBM3 F87A) from Bacillus megaterium was chemically modified with polyethylene glycol. The PEGylated enzyme showed enhanced pesticide transformation activity when compared with the unmodified protein. The transformation rates were higher than those obtained with the unmodified enzyme for all six pesticides transformed. The specific activity of PEGylated preparation for parathion and dichlorophen was up to 9-times higher than these obtained with the unmodified enzyme. In addition, the modified CYP (CYP-PEG) remained active at extremely high pHs, maintaining 90% of its maximal activity at pH 11, as opposed to the unmodified CYP that retained less than 20% of its maximal activity at that pH. In addition, the bioconjugate showed good catalytic activity in blood serum and innocuousness on immune cells. The potential use of PEGylated CYP as a detoxification strategy for pesticide poisoning is demonstrated and discussed.

Efficient synthesis of (S)-N-Boc-3-hydroxypiperidine using an (R)-specific carbonyl reductase from Candida parapsilosis.

(S)-N-Boc-3-hydroxypiperidine (S-NBHP) is a critical chiral intermediate in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, including ibrutinib, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of the new drug Imbruvica approved for the treatment of lymphoma. An (R)-specific carbonyl reductase from Candida parapsilosis (CprCR, also known as R-specific alcohol dehydrogenase) that catalyzes asymmetric reduction to produce (S)-N-Boc-3-hydroxypiperidine (S-NBHP) was identified for the first time. When co-expressed with a glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus megaterium in Escherichia coli Rosetta (DE3), recombinant crude enzyme exhibited an activity of 9 U/mg with N-Boc-3-piperidone as the substrate and 12 U/mg with glucose as the substrate. The biocatalysis of N-Boc-3-piperidone to S-NBHP using recombinant whole-cell biocatalysts was processed in a water/butyl acetate system as well as an aqueous monophasic system without extra NAD+/NADH. This process showed great commercial potential, with a 100 g/l substrate concentration and a whole cells loading (w/v) of 10%, with the conversion of 97.8% and an e.e. of 99.8% in an aqueous monophasic system.

A B12-dependent radical SAM enzyme involved in oxetanocin A biosynthesis.

Oxetanocin A (OXT-A) is a potent antitumour, antiviral and antibacterial compound. Biosynthesis of OXT-A has been linked to a plasmid-borne Bacillus megaterium gene cluster that contains four genes: oxsA, oxsB, oxrA and oxrB. Here we show that both the oxsA and oxsB genes are required for the production of OXT-A. Biochemical analysis of the encoded proteins, a cobalamin (Cbl)-dependent S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) radical enzyme, OxsB, and an HD-domain phosphohydrolase, OxsA, reveals that OXT-A is derived from a 2'-deoxyadenosine phosphate in an OxsB-catalysed ring contraction reaction initiated by hydrogen atom abstraction from C2'. Hence, OxsB represents the first biochemically characterized non-methylating Cbl-dependent AdoMet radical enzyme. X-ray analysis of OxsB reveals the fold of a Cbl-dependent AdoMet radical enzyme, a family of enzymes with an estimated 7,000 members. Overall, this work provides a framework for understanding the interplay of AdoMet and Cbl cofactors and expands the catalytic repertoire of Cbl-dependent AdoMet radical enzymes.

Production and Anti-Melanoma Activity of Methoxyisoflavones from the Biotransformation of Genistein by Two Recombinant Escherichia coli Strains.

Biotransformation of the soy isoflavone genistein by sequential 3'-hydroxylation using recombinant Escherichia coli expressing tyrosinase from Bacillus megaterium and then methylation using another recombinant E. coli expressing O-methyltransferase from Streptomyces peucetius was conducted. The results showed that two metabolites were produced from the biotransformation, identified as 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-3'-methoxyisoflavone and 5,7,3'-trihydroxy-4'-methoxyisoflavone, respectively, based on their mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectral data. 5,7,4'-Trihydroxy-3'-methoxyisoflavone showed potent antiproliferative activity toward mouse B16 melanoma cells with an IC50 value of 68.8 µM. In contrast, the compound did not show any cytotoxicity toward mouse normal fibroblast cells, even at 350 µM concentration. The results of the present study offer insight on the production of both 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-3'-methoxyisoflavone and 5,7,3'-trihydroxy-4'-methoxyisoflavone by two recombinant E. coli strains and the potential anti-melanoma applications of 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-3'-methoxyisoflavone.

An HD domain phosphohydrolase active site tailored for oxetanocin-A biosynthesis.

HD domain phosphohydrolase enzymes are characterized by a conserved set of histidine and aspartate residues that coordinate an active site metallocenter. Despite the important roles these enzymes play in nucleotide metabolism and signal transduction, few have been both biochemically and structurally characterized. Here, we present X-ray crystal structures and biochemical characterization of the Bacillus megaterium HD domain phosphohydrolase OxsA, involved in the biosynthesis of the antitumor, antiviral, and antibacterial compound oxetanocin-A. These studies reveal a previously uncharacterized reaction for this family; OxsA catalyzes the conversion of a triphosphorylated compound into a nucleoside, releasing one molecule of inorganic phosphate at a time. Remarkably, this functionality is a result of the OxsA active site, which based on structural and kinetic analyses has been tailored to bind the small, four-membered ring of oxetanocin-A over larger substrates. Furthermore, our OxsA structures show an active site that switches from a dinuclear to a mononuclear metal center as phosphates are eliminated from substrate.

Hydroxylation of diverse flavonoids by CYP450 BM3 variants: biosynthesis of eriodictyol from naringenin in whole cells and its biological activities.

BACKGROUND: Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase constitutes a significant group of oxidative enzymes that can introduce an oxygen atom in a high regio- and stereo-selectivity mode. We used the Bacillus megaterium cytochrome P450 BM3 (CYP450 BM3) and its variants namely mutant 13 (M13) and mutant 15 (M15) for the hydroxylation of diverse class of flavonoids. RESULTS: Among 20 flavonoids, maximum seven flavonoids were hydroxylated by the variants while none of these molecules were accepted by CYP450 BM3 in in vitro reaction. Moreover, M13 exhibited higher conversion of substrates than M15 and CYP450 BM3 enzymes. We found that M13 carried out regiospecific 3'-hydroxylation reaction of naringenin with the highest conversion among all the tested flavonoids. The apparent K m and k cat values of M13 for naringenin were 446 µM and 1.955 s(-1), respectively. In whole-cell biotransformation experiment with 100 µM of naringenin in M9 minimal medium with 2 % glucose in shake flask culture, M13 showed 2.14- and 13.96-folds higher conversion yield in comparison with M15 (16.11 %) and wild type (2.47 %). The yield of eriodictyol was 46.95 µM [~40.7 mg (13.5 mg/L)] in a 3-L volume lab scale fermentor at 48 h in the same medium exhibiting approximately 49.81 % conversion of the substrate. In addition, eriodictyol exhibited higher antibacterial and anticancer potential than naringenin, flavanone and hesperetin. CONCLUSIONS: We elucidated that eriodictyol being produced from naringenin using recombinant CYP450 BM3 and its variants from B. megaterium, which shows an approach for the production of important hydroxylated compounds of various polyphenols that may span pharmaceutical industries.

Structural Basis of the Substrate Range and Enantioselectivity of Two (S)-Selective ω-Transaminases.

ω-Transaminases are enzymes that can introduce an amino group in industrially interesting compounds. We determined crystal structures of two (S)-selective ω-transaminases, one from Arthrobacter sp. (Ars-ωTA) and one from Bacillus megaterium (BM-ωTA), which have 95% identical sequences but somewhat different activity profiles. Substrate profiling measurements using a range of (R)- and (S)-substrates showed that both enzymes have a preference for substrates with large, flat cyclic side groups, for which the activity of BM-ωTA is generally somewhat higher. BM-ωTA has a preference for (S)-3,3-dimethyl-2-butylamine significantly stronger than that of Ars-ωTA, as well as a weaker enantiopreference for 1-cyclopropylethylamine. The crystal structures showed that, as expected for (S)-selective transaminases, both enzymes have the typical transaminase type I fold and have spacious active sites to accommodate largish substrates. A structure of BM-ωTA with bound (R)-α-methylbenzylamine explains the enzymes' preference for (S)-substrates. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments revealed that the presence of a tyrosine, instead of a cysteine, at position 60 increases the relative activities on several small substrates. A structure of Ars-ωTA with bound l-Ala revealed that the Arg442 side chain has been repositioned to bind the l-Ala carboxylate. Compared to the arginine switch residue in other transaminases, Arg442 is shifted by six residues in the amino acid sequence, which appears to be a consequence of extra loops near the active site that narrow the entrance to the active site.

In Vitro Optimization of Enzymes Involved in Precorrin-2 Synthesis Using Response Surface Methodology.

In order to maximize the production of biologically-derived chemicals, kinetic analyses are first necessary for predicting the role of enzyme components and coordinating enzymes in the same reaction system. Precorrin-2 is a key precursor of cobalamin and siroheme synthesis. In this study, we sought to optimize the concentrations of several molecules involved in precorrin-2 synthesis in vitro: porphobilinogen synthase (PBGS), porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD), uroporphyrinogen III synthase (UROS), and S-adenosyl-l-methionine-dependent urogen III methyltransferase (SUMT). Response surface methodology was applied to develop a kinetic model designed to maximize precorrin-2 productivity. The optimal molar ratios of PBGS, PBGD, UROS, and SUMT were found to be approximately 1:7:7:34, respectively. Maximum precorrin-2 production was achieved at 0.1966 ± 0.0028 µM/min, agreeing with the kinetic model's predicted value of 0.1950 µM/min. The optimal concentrations of the cofactor S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) and substrate 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) were also determined to be 200 µM and 5 mM, respectively, in a tandem-enzyme assay. By optimizing the relative concentrations of these enzymes, we were able to minimize the effects of substrate inhibition and feedback inhibition by S-adenosylhomocysteine on SUMT and thereby increase the production of precorrin-2 by approximately five-fold. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of kinetic modeling via response surface methodology for maximizing the production of biologically-derived chemicals.

Structural and Biochemical Characterization of a Copper-Binding Mutant of the Organomercurial Lyase MerB: Insight into the Key Role of the Active Site Aspartic Acid in Hg-Carbon Bond Cleavage and Metal Binding Specificity.

In bacterial resistance to mercury, the organomercurial lyase (MerB) plays a key role in the detoxification pathway through its ability to cleave Hg-carbon bonds. Two cysteines (C96 and C159; Escherichia coli MerB numbering) and an aspartic acid (D99) have been identified as the key catalytic residues, and these three residues are conserved in all but four known MerB variants, where the aspartic acid is replaced with a serine. To understand the role of the active site serine, we characterized the structure and metal binding properties of an E. coli MerB mutant with a serine substituted for D99 (MerB D99S) as well as one of the native MerB variants containing a serine residue in the active site (Bacillus megaterium MerB2). Surprisingly, the MerB D99S protein copurified with a bound metal that was determined to be Cu(II) from UV-vis absorption, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and electron paramagnetic resonance studies. X-ray structural studies revealed that the Cu(II) is bound to the active site cysteine residues of MerB D99S, but that it is displaced following the addition of either an organomercurial substrate or an ionic mercury product. In contrast, the B. megaterium MerB2 protein does not copurify with copper, but the structure of the B. megaterium MerB2-Hg complex is highly similar to the structure of the MerB D99S-Hg complexes. These results demonstrate that the active site aspartic acid is crucial for both the enzymatic activity and metal binding specificity of MerB proteins and suggest a possible functional relationship between MerB and its only known structural homologue, the copper-binding protein NosL.

[Isolation of microorganisms producing enzyme capable of degrading tobacco straw and nicotine].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to screen tobacco straw and nicotine degrading microorganism. METHODS: The bacterium was isolated from tobacco field soil using medium containing tobacco straw as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. We identified the bacterium through morphological and physiological characterization combined with the result of 16S rRNA gene sequence and data analysis. We also studied the lignocelluloses degradation and enzyme activities related to the degradation of lignin and cellulose in liquid state fermentation of tobacco stalk. RESULTS: The bacterium was identified as Bacillus megaterium and we had demonstrated that it has a good ability to degrade lignin in tobacco straw when fermented in liquid state. It showed the highest laccase production of 418. 52 U/L while the highest lignin peroxides and manganese peroxides activity was 19. 71 U/L and 64. 71 U/L. On the other hand, we also found that nicotine in tobacco stem was totally degraded 20 d after inoculation. CONCLUSION: to the isolated Bacillus megaterium is capable of degrading tobacco straw partially and nicotine totally.

Molecular recognition of CYP26A1 binding pockets and structure-activity relationship studies for design of potent and selective retinoic acid metabolism blocking agents.

All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), the biologically most active metabolite of vitamin A, plays a major role in the regulation of cellular differentiation and proliferation, and it is also an important pharmacological agent particularly used in the treatment of cancer, skin, neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. However, ATRA is very easy to be metabolized into 4-hydroxyl-RA in vivo by CYP26A1, an inducible cytochrome P450 enzyme, eventually into more polar metabolites. Therefore, it is vital to develop specific retinoic acid metabolism blocking agents (RAMBAs) to inhibit the metabolic enzyme CYP26A1 in the treatment of relevant diseases aforementioned. In this study, CYP26A1 and its interactions with retinoic acid-competitive metabolism blocking agents were investigated by a combined ligand- and structure-based approach. First, since the crystal structure of CYP26A1 protein has not been determined, we constructed the 3D structure of CYP26A1 using homology modeling. In order to achieve a deeper insight into the mode of action of RAMBAs in the active site, the molecular superimposition model and the common feature pharmacophore model were constructed, and molecular docking was performed. The molecular superimposition model is composed of three features: the main chain groups, side chain groups, and azole groups. The common feature pharmacophore model consists of five chemical features: four hydrophobic groups and one hydrogen acceptor (HHHHA). The results of molecular docking show that the characteristic groups of RAMBAs were mapped into three different active pockets, respectively. A structure-activity relationship (SAR) was obtained by a combination of the molecular superimposition and docking results with the pharmacophore model. This study gives more insight into the interaction model inside the CYP26A1 active site and provides guidance for the design of more potent and possibly more selective RAMBAs.

Regioselective hydroxylation of 17ß-estradiol by mutants of CYP102A1 from Bacillus megaterium.

A large set of mutants of CYP102A1 from Bacillus megaterium have human cytochrome P450-like activities and the ability to metabolize a number of marketed drugs and steroids. Here, we tested whether the CYP102A1 mutants could be used to produce hydroxylated human metabolites of 17ß-estradiol (E2). A set of the mutants, which were generated by site-directed and random mutagenesis, was used to produce hydroxylated human metabolites of E2 in this study. Some of the tested mutants could regioselectively generate 2-OH E2 as a major metabolite but not other hydroxylated products. These results suggest that CYP102A1 mutants would be useful for the bioconversion of steroid hormones to hydroxylated products, which can be used for industrial applications.

Structural evidence for the partially oxidized dipyrromethene and dipyrromethanone forms of the cofactor of porphobilinogen deaminase: structures of the Bacillus megaterium enzyme at near-atomic resolution.

The enzyme porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD; hydroxymethylbilane synthase; EC 2.5.1.61) catalyses an early step of the tetrapyrrole-biosynthesis pathway in which four molecules of the monopyrrole porphobilinogen are condensed to form a linear tetrapyrrole. The enzyme possesses a dipyrromethane cofactor, which is covalently linked by a thioether bridge to an invariant cysteine residue (Cys241 in the Bacillus megaterium enzyme). The cofactor is extended during the reaction by the sequential addition of the four substrate molecules, which are released as a linear tetrapyrrole product. Expression in Escherichia coli of a His-tagged form of B. megaterium PBGD has permitted the X-ray analysis of the enzyme from this species at high resolution, showing that the cofactor becomes progressively oxidized to the dipyrromethene and dipyrromethanone forms. In previously solved PBGD structures, the oxidized cofactor is in the dipyromethenone form, in which both pyrrole rings are approximately coplanar. In contrast, the oxidized cofactor in the B. megaterium enzyme appears to be in the dipyrromethanone form, in which the C atom at the bridging α-position of the outer pyrrole ring is very clearly in a tetrahedral configuration. It is suggested that the pink colour of the freshly purified protein is owing to the presence of the dipyrromethene form of the cofactor which, in the structure reported here, adopts the same conformation as the fully reduced dipyrromethane form.