Protein Engineering of the Progesterone Hydroxylating P450-Monooxygenase CYP17A1 Alters Its Regioselectivity.

The CYP171 enzyme is known to catalyse a key step in the steroidogenesis of mammals. The substrates progesterone and pregnenolone are first hydroxylated at the C17 position, and this is followed by cleavage of the C17-C20 bond to yield important precursors for glucosteroids and androgens. In this study, we focused on the reaction of the bovine CYP17A1 enzyme with progesterone as a substrate. On the basis of a created homology model, active-site residues were identified and systematically mutated to alanine. In whole-cell biotransformations, the importance of the N202, R239, G297 and E305 residues for substrate conversion was confirmed. Additionally, mutation of the L206, V366 and V483 residues enhanced the formation of the 16α-hydroxyprogesterone side product up to 40 % of the total product formation. Furthermore, residue L105 was found not to be involved in this side activity, which contradicts a previous study with the human enzyme.

The oxygenating constituent of 3,6-diketocamphane monooxygenase from the CAM plasmid of Pseudomonas putida: the first crystal structure of a type II Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase. Corrigendum.

A statement is amended in the article by Isupov et al. [(2015). Acta Cryst. D71, 2344-2353].

Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases from Yarrowia lipolytica catalyze preferentially sulfoxidations.

Nine new putative Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase encoding genes were identified in the eukaryote Yarrowia lipolytica and eight were subsequently cloned and expressed. These enzymes, Yarrowia monooxygenases A-H (YMOA-H), were used in biocatalysis reactions with ketones, sulfides and sulfoxides as substrates. YMOB converts ketones and sulfides, albeit with low activities. However, YMOA did not convert any of the tested ketone substrates, but showed activity towards sulfides and sulfoxides and also showed very high stereoselectivity. This enzyme produced high amounts of sulfones and even converted dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Therefore, the sulfoxidation activity of YMOA was investigated in a mutational study. Variants with increased and reduced sulfone yields were created, indicating relevant amino acid positions for the control of sulfoxidation activity. This work expands the set of eukaryotic BVMOs and explores the Yarrowia monooxygenase A, which might belong to a new class of BVMOs as indicated by its unique activity and a phylogenetic analysis.

Hot spots for the protein engineering of Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases.

Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) are versatile biocatalysts for the conversion of ketones to lactones or esters while also being able to efficiently oxidize sulfides to sulfoxides. However, there are limitations for the application of BVMOs in synthesis. In this review we provide an overview of the protein engineering studies aiming at optimizing different properties of BVMOs. We describe hot spots in the active sites of certain BVMOs that have been successfully targeted for changing the substrate scope, as well as the possibility to influence this property by allosteric effects. The identified hot spots in the active sites for controlling enantio- and regioselectivity are shown to be transferable to other BVMOs and we describe concepts to influence heteroatom oxidation, improve protein stability and change the cofactor dependency of BVMOs. Summarizing all these different studies enabled the identification of BVMO- or property-dependent as well as universal hot spots.

Controlling the Regioselectivity of Baeyer-Villiger Monooxygenases by Mutation of Active-Site Residues.

Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase (BVMO)-mediated regiodivergent conversions of asymmetric ketones can lead to the formation of "normal" or "abnormal" lactones. In a previous study, we were able to change the regioselectivity of a BVMO by mutation of the active-site residues to smaller amino acids, which thus created more space. In this study, we demonstrate that this method can also be used for other BVMO/substrate combinations. We investigated the regioselectivity of 2-oxo-Δ3 -4,5,5-trimethylcyclopentenylacetyl-CoA monooxygenase from Pseudomonas putida (OTEMO) for cis-bicyclo[3.2.0]hept-2-en-6-one (1) and trans-dihydrocarvone (2), and we were able to switch the regioselectivity of this enzyme for one of the substrate enantiomers. The OTEMO wild-type enzyme converted (-)-1 into an equal (50:50) mixture of the normal and abnormal products. The F255A/F443V variant produced 90 % of the normal product, whereas the W501V variant formed up to 98 % of the abnormal product. OTEMO F255A exclusively produced the normal lactone from (+)-2, whereas the wild-type enzyme was selective for the production of the abnormal product. The positions of these amino acids were equivalent to those mutated in the cyclohexanone monooxygenases from Arthrobacter sp. and Acinetobacter sp. (CHMOArthro and CHMOAcineto ) to switch their regioselectivity towards (+)-2, which suggests that there are hot spots in the active site of BVMOs that can be targeted with the aim to change the regioselectivity.

Switching the Regioselectivity of a Cyclohexanone Monooxygenase toward (+)-trans-Dihydrocarvone by Rational Protein Design.

The regioselectivity of the Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase-catalyzed oxidation is governed mostly by electronic effects leading to the migration of the higher substituted residue. However, in some cases, substrate binding occurs in a way that the less substituted residue lies in an antiperiplanar orientation to the peroxy bond in the Criegee intermediate yielding in the formation of the "abnormal" lactone product. We are the first to demonstrate a complete switch in the regioselectivity of the BVMO from Arthrobacter sp. (CHMOArthro) as exemplified for (+)-trans-dihydrocarvone by redesigning the active site of the enzyme. In the designed triple mutant, the substrate binds in an inverted orientation leading to a ratio of 99:1 in favor of the normal lactone instead of exclusive formation of the abnormal lactone in case of the wild type enzyme. In order to validate our computational study, the beneficial mutations were successfully transferred to the CHMO from Acinetobacter sp. (CHMOAcineto), again yielding in a complete switch of regioselectivity.

The oxygenating constituent of 3,6-diketocamphane monooxygenase from the CAM plasmid of Pseudomonas putida: the first crystal structure of a type II Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase.

The three-dimensional structures of the native enzyme and the FMN complex of the overexpressed form of the oxygenating component of the type II Baeyer-Villiger 3,6-diketocamphane monooxygenase have been determined to 1.9 Å resolution. The structure of this dimeric FMN-dependent enzyme, which is encoded on the large CAM plasmid of Pseudomonas putida, has been solved by a combination of multiple anomalous dispersion from a bromine crystal soak and molecular replacement using a bacterial luciferase model. The orientation of the isoalloxazine ring of the FMN cofactor in the active site of this TIM-barrel fold enzyme differs significantly from that previously observed in enzymes of the bacterial luciferase-like superfamily. The Ala77 residue is in a cis conformation and forms a ß-bulge at the C-terminus of ß-strand 3, which is a feature observed in many proteins of this superfamily.

The effect of disulfide bond introduction and related Cys/Ser mutations on the stability of a cyclohexanone monooxygenase.

Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases (BVMO) belong to the class B of flavin-dependent monooxygenases (type I BVMOs) and catalyze the oxidation of (cyclic) ketones into esters and lactones. The prototype BVMO is the cyclohexanone monooxygenase (CHMO) from Acinetobacter sp. NCIMB 9871. This enzyme shows an impressive substrate scope with a high chemo-, regio- and/or enantioselectivity. BVMO reactions are often difficult, if not impossible to achieve by chemical approaches and this makes these enzymes thus highly desired candidates for industrial applications. Unfortunately, the industrial use is hampered by several factors related to the lack of stability of these biocatalysts. Thus, the aim of this study was to improve the CHMO's long-term stability, one of the most relevant parameter for biocatalytic processes, and additionally its stability against oxidation. We used an easy computational method for the prediction of stabilizing disulfide bonds in the CHMO-scaffold. The three most promising predicted disulfide pairs were created and biochemically characterized. The most oxidatively stable variant (Y411C-A463C) retained nearly 60% activity after incubation with 25 mM H2O2 whereas the wild type retained only 16%. In addition, one extra disulfide pair (T415C-A463C) was created and tested for increased stability. The melting temperature (Tm) of this variant was increased by 5°C with simultaneous improved long-term stability. After verification by ABD-F labeling that this mutant does not form a disulfide bond, single and double Cys/Ser mutants were prepared and investigated. Subsequent analysis revealed that the T415C single point variant is the most stable variant with a 30-fold increased long-term stability (33% residual activity after 24h incubation at 25°C) showcasing a great achievement for practical applications.

Functional assembly of camphor converting two-component Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases with a flavin reductase from E. coli.

The major limitation in the synthetic application of two-component Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases was addressed by identifying the 28-kDa flavin-reductase Fre from Escherichia coli as a suitable supplier of reduced FMN for these enzymes. Coexpression of Fre with either 2,5- or 3,6-diketocamphane monooxygenase from Pseudomonas putida NCIMB 10007 significantly enhanced the conversion of camphor and norcamphor serving as representative ketones. With purified enzymes, full conversion was achieved, while only slight amounts of product were formed in the absence of this flavin reductase. Fusion of the genes of Fre and DKCMOs into single open reading frame constructs resulted in unstable proteins exhibiting flavin reducing, but poor oxygenating activity, which led to overall decreased conversion of camphor.

Discovery, application and protein engineering of Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases for organic synthesis.

Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) are useful enzymes for organic synthesis as they enable the direct and highly regio- and stereoselective oxidation of ketones to esters or lactones simply with molecular oxygen. This contribution covers novel concepts such as searching in protein sequence databases using distinct motifs to discover new Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases as well as high-throughput assays to facilitate protein engineering in order to improve BVMOs with respect to substrate range, enantioselectivity, thermostability and other properties. Recent examples for the application of BVMOs in synthetic organic synthesis illustrate the broad potential of these biocatalysts. Furthermore, methods to facilitate the more efficient use of BVMOs in organic synthesis by applying e.g. improved cofactor regeneration, substrate feed and in situ product removal or immobilization are covered in this perspective.