Production Of Chiral Alcohols Research Articles

Gene-specific amplicons from metagenomes as an alternative to directed evolution for enzyme screening: a case study using phenylacetaldehyde reductases.

Screening gene‐specific amplicons from metagenomes (S‐GAM) is a highly promising technique for the isolation of genes encoding enzymes for biochemical and industrial applications. From metagenomes, we isolated phenylacetaldehyde reductase (par) genes, which code for an enzyme that catalyzes the production of various Prelog's chiral alcohols. Nearly full‐length par genes were amplified by PCR from metagenomic DNA, the products of which were fused with engineered par sequences at both terminal regions of the expression vector to ensure proper expression and then used to construct Escherichia coli plasmid libraries. Sequence‐ and activity‐based screening of these libraries identified different homologous par genes, Hpar‐001 to ‐036, which shared more than 97% amino acid sequence identity with PAR. Comparative characterization of these active homologs revealed a wide variety of enzymatic properties including activity, substrate specificity, and thermal stability. Moreover, amino acid substitutions in these genes coincided with those of Sar268 and Har1 genes, which were independently engineered by error‐prone PCR to exhibit increased activity in the presence of concentrated 2‐propanol. The comparative data from both approaches suggest that sequence information from homologs isolated from metagenomes is quite useful for enzyme engineering. Furthermore, by examining the GAM‐based sequence dataset derived from soil metagenomes, we easily found amino acid substitutions that increase the thermal stability of PAR/PAR homologs. Thus, GAM‐based approaches can provide not only useful homologous enzymes but also an alternative to directed evolution methodologies.

Coupled reactions on bioparticles: Stereoselective reduction with cofactor regeneration on PhaC inclusion bodies.

Chiral alcohols are important building blocks for specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The production of chiral alcohols from ketones can be carried out stereo selectively with alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs). To establish a process for cost-effective enzyme immobilization on solid phase for application in ketone reduction, we used an established enzyme pair consisting of ADH from Rhodococcus erythropolis and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) from Candida boidinii for NADH cofactor regeneration and co-immobilized them on modified poly-p-hydroxybutyrate synthase (PhaC)-inclusion bodies that were recombinantly produced in Escherichia coli cells. After separate production of genetically engineered and recombinantly produced enzymes and particles, cell lysates were combined and enzymes endowed with a Kcoil were captured on the surface of the Ecoil presenting particles due to coiled-coil interaction. Enzyme-loaded particles could be easily purified by centrifugation. Total conversion of 4'-chloroacetophenone to (S)-4-chloro-α-methylbenzyl alcohol could be accomplished using enzyme-loaded particles, catalytic amounts of NAD(+) and formate as substrates for FDH. Chiral GC-MS analysis revealed that immobilized ADH retained enantioselectivity with 99 % enantiomeric excess. In conclusion, this strategy may become a cost-effective alternative to coupled reactions using purified enzymes.

Coupled (R)-carbonyl reductase and glucose dehydrogenase catalyzes (R)-1-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol biosynthesis with excellent stereochemical selectivity

The biotransformation of 2-hydroxyacetophenone to (R)-1-phenyl-1, 2-ethanediol (PED) by NADH-dependent (R)-carbonyl reductase (RCR) from Candida parapsilosis is slow and gives low yields, probably as a result of insufficient cofactors. To improve the biotransformation efficiency of (R)-PED from 2-hydroxyacetophenon, an enzyme-coupling system containing RCR and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) was constructed to strengthen NADH-recycling pathway in Escherichia coli, in which the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and the aligned spacing sequence were used as linkers between them. The introduction of glucose dehydrogenase had little affects on the cell-growth. The co-expression conditions of RCR and glucose dehydrogenase was optimized to rebalance their catalytic functions. The ratio of kcat/KM for enzyme-coupling system catalyzing 2-HAP and glucose was about 1.0, suggesting the good balance between the functions of RCR and GDH. The rebalanced system gave excellent performance in (R)-PED biotransformation: an optical purity of 99.9% and a yield of 99.9% at optimal conditions: 35°C and pH 7.0. The introduction of glucose dehydrogenase stimulated increases of 23.8% and 63.8%, in optical purity and yield of (R)-PED, and simultaneously reduced the reaction time two-fold. This work provided a valuable method for efficient chiral alcohol production through protein-expression and biotransformation optimization to rebalance cofactor pathways.

Highly selective anti-Prelog synthesis of optically active aryl alcohols by recombinant Escherichia coli expressing stereospecific alcohol dehydrogenase

ABSTRACTBiocatalytic asymmetric synthesis has been widely used for preparation of optically active chiral alcohols as the important intermediates and precursors of active pharmaceutical ingredients. However, the available whole-cell system involving anti-Prelog specific alcohol dehydrogenase is yet limited. A recombinant Escherichia coli system expressing anti-Prelog stereospecific alcohol dehydrogenase from Candida parapsilosis was established as a whole-cell system for catalyzing asymmetric reduction of aryl ketones to anti-Prelog configured alcohols. Using 2-hydroxyacetophenone as the substrate, reaction factors including pH, cell status, and substrate concentration had obvious impacts on the outcome of whole-cell biocatalysis, and xylose was found to be an available auxiliary substrate for intracellular cofactor regeneration, by which (S)-1-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol was achieved with an optical purity of 97%e.e. and yield of 89% under the substrate concentration of 5 g/L. Additionally, the feasibility of the recombinant cells toward different aryl ketones was investigated, and most of the corresponding chiral alcohol products were obtained with an optical purity over 95%e.e. Therefore, the whole-cell system involving recombinant stereospecific alcohol dehydrogenase was constructed as an efficient biocatalyst for highly enantioselective anti-Prelog synthesis of optically active aryl alcohols and would be promising in the pharmaceutical industry.

Online capillary solid-phase microextraction coupled liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for analysis of chiral secondary alcohol products in yeast catalyzed stereoselective reduction cell culture

An online solid-phase microextraction coupled liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry was developed for the analysis of trace R- and S-4-phenyl-2-butanol (R- and S-pbol) in salt rich cell culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae catalyzed stereoselective reduction of 4-pheny-2-butanone (pbone). A Supel-Q PLOT capillary column was used for the extraction and deionized distilled water was used as the extraction mobile phase. The extraction flow rate and extraction time were at 0.1mLmin−1 and 0.95min, respectively. The three target analytes, pbone, R-pbol, and S-4-pbol, were desorbed and eluted by the mobile phase of water/methanol/isopropanol (55/25/20, v/v/v) with a flow rate of 0.5mLmin−1 and analyzed by a chiral column. The mass spectrometric detection of the three target analytes was in positive ion mode with the signal [M+Na]+. The matrix-matched external standard calibration curves with linear concentration range between 0 and 50μgmL−1 were used for quantitative analysis. The linear regression correlation coefficients (r2) of the standard calibration curves were between 0.9950 and 0.9961. The yeast mediated reduction was performed with a recation culture of yeast incubation culture/glycerol (70/30, v/v) for 4 days. This biotransformation possessed 82.3% yield and 92.9% S-enantomeric excess. The limit of detection (LOD)/limit of quantification (LOQ) for pbone, R-pbol, and S-pbol was 0.02/0.067, 0.01/0.033, and 0.01/0.033μgmL−1, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day precisions from repeated measurements were 10.8–21.1% and 11.6–18.7%, respectively. The analysis accuracy from spike recovery was 84–91%.

Tandem α‐Alkylation/Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of Acetophenones with Primary Alcohols

AbstractA tandem α‐alkylation/asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of acetophenones with primary alcohols, mediated by a single ruthenium catalyst, is described. Under optimized reaction conditions and with use of [Ru(p‐cymene)Cl2]2 in combination with an amino acid hydroxyamide ligand, the chiral secondary alcohol products were isolated in moderate yields and in moderate to good enantiomeric excess (up to 89 % ee).

Inside Back Cover: Advances in Asymmetric Borrowing Hydrogen Catalysis (ChemSusChem 9/2014)

The Inside Back Cover image shows two simple methods for the production of chiral alcohols and amines starting from racemic alcohols. A powerful strategy is the borrowing hydrogen methodology, which combines transfer hydrogenation (avoidance of direct usage of hydrogen) with an intermediate reaction, such as condensation or α-alkylation, without necessary separation processes. Depending on the conditions, either subsequent asymmetric organocatalysis or asymmetric reduction of imines takes place. More details can be found in the Highlight by Dirk Hollmann on page 2411 (DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201402320).

Efficient PCR-based amplification of diverse alcohol dehydrogenase genes from metagenomes for improving biocatalysis: screening of gene-specific amplicons from metagenomes.

Screening of gene-specific amplicons from metagenomes (S-GAM) has tremendous biotechnological potential. We used this approach to isolate alcohol dehydrogenase (adh) genes from metagenomes based on the Leifsonia species adh gene (lsadh), the enzyme product of which can produce various chiral alcohols. A primer combination was synthesized by reference to homologs of lsadh, and PCR was used to amplify nearly full-length adh genes from metagenomic DNAs. All adh preparations were fused with lsadh at the terminal region and used to construct Escherichia coli plasmid libraries. Of the approximately 2,000 colonies obtained, 1,200 clones were identified as adh positive (∼60%). Finally, 40 adh genes, Hladh-001 to Hladh-040 (for homologous Leifsonia adh), were identified from 223 clones with high efficiency, which were randomly sequenced from the 1,200 clones. The Hladh genes obtained via this approach encoded a wide variety of amino acid sequences (8 to 99%). After screening, the enzymes obtained (HLADH-012 and HLADH-021) were confirmed to be superior to LSADH in some respects for the production of anti-Prelog chiral alcohols.

Suitability of the hydrocarbon-hydroxylating molybdenum-enzyme ethylbenzene dehydrogenase for industrial chiral alcohol production

The molybdenum/iron-sulfur/heme protein ethylbenzene dehydrogenase (EbDH) was successfully applied to catalyze enantiospecific hydroxylation of alkylaromatic and alkylheterocyclic compounds. The optimization of the synthetic procedure involves use of the enzyme in a crude purification state that saves significant preparation effort and is more stable than purified EbDH without exhibiting unwanted side reactions. Moreover, immobilization of the enzyme on a crystalline cellulose support and changes in reaction conditions were introduced in order to increase the amounts of product formed (anaerobic atmosphere, electrochemical electron acceptor recycling or utilization of ferricyanide as alternative electron acceptor in high concentrations). We report here on an extension of effective enzyme activity from 4h to more than 10 days and final product yields of up to 0.4–0.5g/l, which represent a decent starting point for further optimization. Therefore, we expect that the hydrocarbon-hydroxylation capabilities of EbDH may be developed into a new process of industrial production of chiral alcohols.

Combined cross-linked enzyme aggregates (combi-CLEAs) for efficient integration of a ketoreductase and a cofactor regeneration system

An alternative strategy for cofactor regeneration in the synthesis of valuable chiral alcohols catalyzed by ketoreductases was developed. combi-CLEAs of ketoreductase and d-glucose dehydrogenase enabled the repeated and effective conversion of substrate ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) with several superiorities. Wide application of this strategy in production of various chiral alcohols could be expected in the future for its high efficiency with low cost.

Cloning, expression, and directed evolution of carbonyl reductase from Leifsonia xyli HS0904 with enhanced catalytic efficiency

(R)-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl] ethanol ((R)-BTPE) is a valuable chiral intermediate for the synthesis of antiemetic drug Aprepitant and Fosaprepitant. A Leifsonia xyli HS0904-derived carbonyl reductase (LXCAR), an effective biocatalyst for the asymmetric reduction of 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl) acetophenone (BTAP) to (R)-BTPE, was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Bioinformatics analysis indicated that the amino acid sequence of recombinant LXCAR showed 89 % similarity to short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase. E. coli recombinant carbonyl reductase crude extract showed a specific activity of 1.54 U/mg, which was 62 times higher than that of L. xyli HS0904 crude extract. By using error-prone polymerase chain reaction and site-directed mutagenesis, the engineered LXCAR demonstrated superior catalytic activity toward BTAP, and the obtained mutant LXCAR-S154Y exhibited nearly 13-fold, 5.4-fold, and 2.3-fold increase in k cat/K m value, k cat value, and specific activity toward BTAP, respectively, compared to the recombinant LXCAR. Additionally, the reduction of BTAP by whole cells of mutant LXCAR-S154Y afforded a best yield of 99.6 % for (R)-BTPE within 2 h at 200 mM BTAP, which was shortened by 28 and 2 h compared to those catalyzed by L. xyli HS0904 cells and recombinant E. coli cells expressing LXCAR, respectively. Moreover, a yield of 82.5 % for (R)-BTPE was achieved within 12 h at an increased BTAP concentration of up to 1,000 mM (256 g/l), representing a 1.9-fold increase over the recombinant LXCAR. Homology modeling and docking analysis revealed the molecular basis for the high catalytic activity of mutant LXCAR-S154Y toward BTAP. The results present here provide a promising alternative for economical and efficient production of chiral alcohols by engineered LXCAR.

Functional expression of Serratia marcescens H30 lipase in Escherichia coli for efficient kinetic resolution of racemic alcohols in organic solvents

Abstract A lipase from Serratia marcescens H30 was cloned and functionally expressed in E. coli in soluble form (more than 80%). The recombinant lipase activity reached 25,000 U/L after optimization. Different carriers were used to immobilize the recombinant S. marcescens lipase (SmL), and LH-EP was found to be the most ideal carrier. LH-EP immobilized SmL could catalyze enantioselective resolution of racemic alcohols. Using 4-phenyl-2-butanol as the model alcohol, the effects of temperature, organic solvent, water activity, acyl donor and substrate molar ratio on the LH-EP immobilized SmL catalyzed kinetic resolution were investigated. All of these factors influenced the resolution effect to some extent. At last, a high E value of more than 200 was achieved, with eeS > 99% and a conversion of 49.9%. Further studies showed that the LH-EP immobilized SmL could also catalyze the kinetic resolution of other structure similar racemic alcohols. These results indicate that the SmL is useful for biocatalytic production of chiral alcohols. This work is the first attempt of using SmL in this field, and it further broadens the application field of SmL.

Thermostable Alcohol Dehydrogenase from Thermococcus kodakarensis KOD1 for Enantioselective Bioconversion of Aromatic Secondary Alcohols

A novel thermostable alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) showing activity toward aromatic secondary alcohols was identified from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis KOD1 (TkADH). The gene, tk0845, which encodes an aldo-keto reductase, was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The enzyme was found to be a monomer with a molecular mass of 31 kDa. It was highly thermostable with an optimal temperature of 90°C and a half-life of 4.5 h at 95°C. The apparent K(m) values for the cofactors NAD(P)(+) and NADPH were similar within a range of 66 to 127 μM. TkADH preferred secondary alcohols and accepted various ketones and aldehydes as substrates. Interestingly, the enzyme could oxidize 1-phenylethanol and its derivatives having substituents at the meta and para positions with high enantioselectivity, yielding the corresponding (R)-alcohols with optical purities of greater than 99.8% enantiomeric excess (ee). TkADH could also reduce 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone to (R)-2,2,2-trifluoro-1-phenylethanol with high enantioselectivity (>99.6% ee). Furthermore, the enzyme showed high resistance to organic solvents and was particularly highly active in the presence of H2O-20% 2-propanol and H2O-50% n-hexane or n-octane. This ADH is expected to be a useful tool for the production of aromatic chiral alcohols.

Efficient one-step production of (S)-1-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol from (R)-enantiomer plus NAD+–NADPH in-situ regeneration using engineered Escherichia coli

BackgroundCandida parapsilosis CCTCC M203011 catalyzes the stereoinversion of (R)-1-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol (PED) through oxidation and reduction. Its NAD+-linked (R)-carbonyl reductase (RCR) catalyzes the oxidization of (R)-PED to 2-hydroxyacetophenone (HAP), and its NADPH-dependent (S)-carbonyl reductase (SCR) catalyzes the reduction of HAP to (S)-PED. The reactions require NAD+ and NADPH as cofactors. However, even if NAD+ and NADPH are added, the biotransformation of (S)-PED from the (R)-enantiomer by an Escherichia coli strain co-expressing RCR and SCR is slow and gives low yields, probably as a result of insufficient or imbalanced redox cofactors. To prepare (S)-PED from the (R)-enantiomer in one-step efficiently, plus redox cofactor regeneration, we introduced pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenases (PNTs) from E. coli to the metabolic pathway of (S)-PED.ResultsThe PNTs were successfully introduced into the E. coli strain RSAB. Most of the PNT activities occurred in the cell membrane of E. coli. The introduction of PNTs increased intracellular NAD+ and NADH concentrations and decreased the NADPH pool without affecting the total nucleotide concentration and cell growth properties. The presence of PNTs increased the NADH/NAD+ ratio slightly and reduced the NADPH/NADP+ ratio about two-fold; the ratio of NADPH/NADP+ to NADH/NAD+ was reduced from 36 to 17. So, the PNTs rebalanced the cofactor pathways: the rate of RCR was increased, while the rate of SCR was decreased. When the ratio of NAD+/NADPH was 3.0 or higher, the RSAB strain produced (S)-PED with the highest optical purity, 97.4%, and a yield of 95.2% at 6 h. The introduction of PNTs stimulated increases of 51.5% and 80.6%, respectively, in optical purity and yield, and simultaneously reduced the reaction time seven-fold.ConclusionsIn this work, PNTs were introduced into E. coli to rebalance the cofactor pools within the engineered (S)-PED pathways. The efficient one-step production of (S)-PED plus NAD+–NADPH in-situ regeneration was realized. This work provided new insights into cofactor rebalancing pathways, using metabolic engineering methods, for efficient chiral alcohol production.

Production of chiral alcohols from prochiral ketones by microalgal photo-biocatalytic asymmetric reduction reaction

Microalgal photo-biocatalysis is a green technique for asymmetric synthesis. Asymmetric reduction of nonnatural prochiral ketones to produce chiral alcohols by microalgal photo-biocatalysis was studied in this work. Acetophenone (ACP) and ethyl acetoacetate (EAA) were chosen as model substrates for aromatic ketones and β-ketoesters, respectively. Two prokaryotic cyanophyta and two eukaryotic chlorophyta were selected as photo-biocatalysts. The results proved that nonnatural prochiral ketones can be reduced by microalgal photo-biocatalysis with high enantioselectivity. Illumination is indispensable to the photo-biocatalysis. For aromatic ketone, cyanophyta are eligible biocatalysts. For ACP asymmetric reduction reaction, about 45% yield and 97% e.e. can be achieved by the photo-biocatalysis reaction with Spirulina platensis as biocatalyst. On the contrary, chlorophyta are efficient biocatalysts for β-ketoester asymmetric reduction reaction among the four tested algae. For EAA asymmetric reduction reaction, about 70% yield and 90% e.e. can be achieved with Scenedesmus obliquus as biocatalyst. The microalgae used in this study outperformed other characterized biocatalysts such as microbial and plant cells.

Indium-Mediated Asymmetric Barbier-Type Propargylations: Additions to Aldehydes and Ketones and Mechanistic Investigation of the Organoindium Reagents

We report a simple, efficient, and general method for the indium-mediated enantioselective propargylation of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes under Barbier-type conditions in a one-pot synthesis affording the corresponding chiral alcohol products in very good yield (up to 90%) and enantiomeric excess (up to 95%). The extension of this methodology to ketones demonstrated the need for electrophilic ketones more reactive than acetophenone as the reaction would not proceed with just acetophenone. Using the Lewis acid indium triflate [In(OTf)(3)] induced regioselective formation of the corresponding homoallenic alcohol product from acetophenone. However, this methodology demonstrated excellent chemoselectivity in formation of only the corresponding secondary homopropargylic alcohol product in the presence of a ketone functionality. Investigation of the organoindium intermediates under our reaction conditions shows the formation of allenylindium species, and we suggest that these species contain an indium(III) center. In addition, we have observed the presence of a shiny, indium(0) nugget throughout the reaction, irrespective of the stoichiometry, indicating disproportionation of indium halide byproduct formed during the reaction.

Highly efficient synthesis of chiral alcohols with a novel NADH-dependent reductase from Streptomyces coelicolor

An NADH-dependent reductase (ScCR) from Streptomyces coelicolor was discovered by genome mining for carbonyl reductases. ScCR was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21, purified to homogeneity and its catalytic properties were studied. This enzyme catalyzed the asymmetric reduction of a broad range of prochiral ketones including aryl ketones, α- and β-ketoesters, with high activity and excellent enantioselectivity (>99% ee) towards β-ketoesters. Among them, ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) was efficiently converted to ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ((S)-CHBE), an important pharmaceutical intermediate, in water/toluene biphasic system. As much as 600g/L (3.6M) of COBE was asymmetrically reduced within 22h using 2-propanol as a co-substrate for NADH regeneration, resulting in a yield of 93%, an enantioselectivity of >99% ee, and a total turnover number (TTN) of 12,100. These results indicate the potential of ScCR for the industrial production of valuable chiral alcohols.

Kinetic mechanism of 3-ketoacyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase from Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942: A useful enzyme for the production of chiral alcohols

Abstract Mathematical models and simulations have become indispensable tools for the characterization and optimization of enzymatic processes. Nonetheless, industrially relevant enzymes are often poorly characterized with respect to enzyme kinetics. For the description of bisubstrate reactions catalysed by oxidoreductases in many cases Michaelis–Menten kinetics is used, which is a significant simplification. The NADPH-dependent 3-ketoacyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase (KR) from Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942 is an interesting biocatalyst for the asymmetric synthesis of a variety of chiral building blocks, such as ethyl ( S )-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate. Initial-rate analysis of the KR-catalysed reduction of ethyl 4-chloroacetoacetate to the corresponding ( S )-alcohol gave families of straight lines in double-reciprocal plots consistent with a sequential mechanism being obeyed. Product inhibition studies revealed that the KR follows a steady-state ordered Bi Bi mechanism with NADPH binding first. This result was corroborated by fluorescence enhancement studies, which indicated that the cofactor can bind to the free enzyme. The dissociation constants for the binary NADPH–protein complex determined kinetically and by fluorescence titration were identical within experimental error (1.04 ± 0.35 mM and 1.01 ± 0.23 mM) and confirmed the accuracy of the obtained kinetic parameters.

Production of Chiral Aromatic Alcohol by Asymmetric Reduction with Vegetable Catalyst

Chiral aromatic alcohols are the key chiral building block for many important enantiopure pharmaceuticals. In this work, we studied asymmetric reduction of prochiral aromatic ketone to produce the corresponding chiral alcohol using vegetables as the biocatalyst. Acetophenone was chosen as the model substrate. The results indicate that acetophenone can be reduced to the corresponding chiral alcohols with high enantioselectivity by the chosen vegetables, i. e. apple ( Malus pumila), carrot ( Daucus carota), cucumber ( Cucumis sativus), onion ( Allium cepa), potato ( Soanum tuberosum), radish ( Raphanus sativus), and sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas). In the reaction, R-1-phenylethanol is produced with apple, sweet potato and potato as the catalyst, while S-1-phenylethanol is the product with the other vegetables as the catalyst. In term of the enantioselectivity and reaction yield, carrot ( D. carota) is the best catalyst for this reaction. Furthermore, the reaction characteristics were studied in detail using carrot ( D. carota) as the biocatalyst. The effects of various factors on the reaction were investigated and the optimal reaction conditions were determined. Under the optimal reaction conditions (reaction time 50 h, substrate concentration 20 mmol·L −1, reaction temperature 35 °C and pH 7), 95% of e. e. (to S-1-phenylethanol) and 85% chemical yield can be obtained. This work extends the biocatalyst for the asymmetric reduction reaction of prochiral aromatic ketones, and provides a novel potential route to produce enantiopure aromatic alcohols.

Enantioselective reduction of prochiral ketones by engineered bifunctional fusion proteins

NADPH-dependent oxidoreductases are useful catalysts for the production of chiral synthons. However, preparative applications of oxidoreductases require efficient methods for in situ regeneration of the expensive nicotinamide cofactors. An advantageous method for cofactor regeneration is the construction of bifunctional fusion proteins composed of two enzymes, one catalysing the reduction reaction and the other one mediating the recycling of cofactors. Herein, we describe the in-frame fusion between an NADP+-accepting mutant of FDH (formate dehydrogenase) from Mycobacterium vaccae N10 and KR [3-ketoacyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase] from Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942. The generation of linker insertion mutants led to a fusion protein exhibiting 100 and 80% of the enzymatic activities of native KR and FDH respectively. Escherichia coli cells expressing the fusion protein showed an approx. 2-fold higher initial reaction rate in the production of chiral alcohols than cells expressing the enzymes separately. The application of the engineered fusion protein in whole-cell bioreduction of pentafluoroacetophenone resulted in a substrate conversion of 99.97% with an excellent enantiomeric excess of 99.9% (S)-1-(pentafluorophenyl)ethanol.