Abstract
α-Dioxygenases (α-DOXs) are known as plant enzymes involved in the α-oxidation of fatty acids through which fatty aldehydes, with a high commercial value as flavor and fragrance compounds, are synthesized as products. Currently, little is known about α-DOXs from non-plant organisms. The phylogenic analysis reported here identified a substantial number of α-DOX enzymes across various taxa. Here, we report the functional characterization and Escherichia coli whole-cell application of two novel α-DOXs identified from cyanobacteria: CalDOX from Calothrix parietina and LepDOX from Leptolyngbya sp. The catalytic behavior of the recombinantly expressed CalDOX and LepDOX revealed that they are heme-dependent like plant α-DOXs but exhibit activities toward medium carbon fatty acids ranging from C10 to C14 unlike plant α-DOXs. The in-depth molecular investigation of cyanobacterial α-DOXs and their application in an E. coli whole system employed in this study is useful not only for the understanding of the molecular function of α-DOXs, but also for their industrial utilization in fatty aldehyde biosynthesis.Key points• Two novel α-dioxygenases from Cyanobacteria are reported• Both enzymes prefer medium-chain fatty acids• Both enzymes are useful for fatty aldehyde biosynthesisGraphical abstract
Highlights
Fatty aldehydes represent a structurally diverse group of aliphatic compounds derived from the corresponding fatty acids
The phylogenetic analysis revealed that disparate clusters of α-DOX sequences distributed over a range of bacteria, fungi, and metazoa in addition to plants, none of which has so far been reported to include α-DOX (Fig. 1)
In five bacterial phyla including Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, α-DOXs were found, in which α-DOXs from Cyanobacteria and Actinobacteria were clustered together, while those from Proteobacteria were dispersed throughout the tree. α-DOX–possessing fungi were restricted to the phylum Ascomycota
Summary
Fatty aldehydes represent a structurally diverse group of aliphatic compounds derived from the corresponding fatty acids. Many types of fatty aldehydes provide pleasant and diverse odor impressions depending on their chemical structure determined by chain length, the presence/ number/position of double bonds, and further substitutions (Hammer et al 2020). They are widely applied in the Extraction from natural sources, such as plants and fungi, has been traditionally achieved to obtain fatty aldehydes, and the in-depth analysis of these extracts has served as a useful basis for the identification of valuable compounds (Hammer et al 2021). They can meet the consumer’s preference for naturally produced products (Kunjapur and Prather 2015)
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