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In the search for useful and renewable chemical building blocks, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) has emerged as a very promising candidate, as it can be prepared from sugars. HMF can be oxidized to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), which is used as a substitute for petroleum-based terephthalate in polymer production. On the basis of a recently identified bacterial degradation pathway for HMF, candidate genes responsible for selective HMF oxidation have been identified. Heterologous expression of a protein from Methylovorus sp. strain MP688 in Escherichia coli and subsequent enzyme characterization showed that the respective gene indeed encodes an efficient HMF oxidase (HMFO). HMFO is a flavin adenine dinucleotide-containing oxidase and belongs to the glucose-methanol-choline-type flavoprotein oxidase family. Intriguingly, the activity of HMFO is not restricted to HMF, as it is active with a wide range of aromatic primary alcohols and aldehydes. The enzyme was shown to be relatively thermostable and active over a broad pH range. This makes HMFO a promising oxidative biocatalyst that can be used for the production of FDCA from HMF, a reaction involving both alcohol and aldehyde oxidations.

Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases catalyze oxidations that are of interest for biocatalytic applications. Among these enzymes, phenylacetone monooxygenase (PAMO) from Thermobifida fusca is the only protein showing remarkable stability. While related enzymes often present a broad substrate scope, PAMO accepts only a limited number of substrates. Due to the absence of a substrate in the elucidated crystal structure of PAMO, the substrate binding site of this protein has not yet been defined. In this study, a structural model of cyclopentanone monooxygenase, which acts on a broad range of compounds, has been prepared and compared with the structure of PAMO. This revealed 15 amino acid positions in the active site of PAMO that may account for its relatively narrow substrate specificity. We designed and analyzed 30 single and multiple mutants in order to verify the role of these positions. Extensive substrate screening revealed several mutants that displayed increased activity and altered regio- or enantioselectivity in Baeyer-Villiger reactions and sulfoxidations. Further substrate profiling resulted in the identification of mutants with improved catalytic properties toward synthetically attractive compounds. Moreover, the thermostability of the mutants was not compromised in comparison to that of the wild-type enzyme. Our data demonstrate that the positions identified within the active site of PAMO, namely, V54, I67, Q152, and A435, contribute to the substrate specificity of this enzyme. These findings will aid in more dedicated and effective redesign of PAMO and related monooxygenases toward an expanded substrate scope.

Arthrobacter sp. strain IF1 is able to grow on 4-fluorophenol (4-FP) as a sole source of carbon and energy. To clone the 4-FP degradation genes, DNA libraries were constructed and screened with a probe obtained by PCR using primers designed on the basis of conserved regions of aromatic two-component monooxygenases. Sequencing of positive clones yielded two gene clusters, each harboring a gene encoding a monooxygenase with high sequence similarity to the oxygenase component of 4-nitrophenol and 4-chlorophenol monooxygenase systems. Both these monooxygenase genes were differentially expressed during growth on 4-FP, as revealed by Northern blotting and reverse transcription-PCR. One cluster also contained a gene for a flavin reductase. The monooxygenase and reductase were purified from Escherichia coli cells expressing the corresponding genes, and together they catalyzed NADH-dependent hydroxylation and dehalogenation of 4-halophenols. The results indicate that strain IF1 transforms 4-FP to hydroquinone by a two-component monooxygenase system of which one component provides reduced flavin adenine dinucleotide at the expense of NADH and the other catalyzes para-hydroxylation of 4-FP and other 4-substituted phenols.

Oxygenases form an interesting class of biocatalysts, as they typically perform oxygenations with exquisite chemo-, regio-, and/or enantioselectivity. It has been observed that, once heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, some oxygenases are able to form the blue pigment indigo. We have exploited this characteristic to screen a metagenomic library derived from loam soil and identified a novel oxygenase. This oxygenase shows 50% sequence identity with styrene monooxygenases from pseudomonads (StyA). Only a limited number of homologs can be found in the genome sequence database, indicating that this biocatalyst is a member of a relatively small family of bacterial monooxygenases. The newly identified monooxygenase catalyzes the epoxidation of styrene and styrene derivatives and forms the corresponding (S)-epoxides with excellent enantiomeric excess [e.g., (S)-styrene oxide is formed with >99% enantiomeric excess, ee] and therefore is named styrene monooxgenase subunit A (SmoA). SmoA shows high enantioselectivity towards aromatic sulfides [e.g., (R)-ethyl phenyl sulfoxide is formed with 92% ee]. This excellent enantioselectivity in combination with the moderate sequence identity forms a clear indication that SmoA from a metagenomic origin represents a new enzyme within the small family of styrene monooxygenases.

When Penicillium simplicissimum is grown on veratryl alcohol, anisyl alcohol, or 4-(methoxymethyl)phenol, an intracellular covalent flavin-containing vanillyl-alcohol oxidase is induced. The induction is highest (up to 5% of total protein) during the growth phase. In addition to vanillyl-alcohol oxidase, an intracellular catalase-peroxidase is induced. Induction of vanillyl-alcohol oxidase in P. simplicissimum is prevented by the addition of isoeugenol to veratryl alcohol-containing media, but growth is unaffected. The inhibitory effect of isoeugenol on induction is not observed when anisyl alcohol or 4-(methoxymethyl)phenol is used as the growth substrate. Based on the induction experiments and the degradation pathways for veratryl and anisyl alcohol, we propose that induction of vanillyl-alcohol oxidase is superfluous when P. simplicissimum is grown on these aromatic alcohols. However, the enzyme plays an essential role in the degradation of the methyl ether of p-cresol, 4-(methoxymethyl)phenol.