Analysis of Laboratory-Evolved Flavin-Dependent Halogenases Affords a Computational Model for Predicting Halogenase Site Selectivity.

Flavin-dependent halogenases (FDHs) catalyze selective halogenation of electron-rich aromatic compounds without the need for harsh oxidants required by conventional oxidative halogenation reactions. Predictive models for halogenase site selectivity could greatly improve their utility for chemical synthesis. Toward this end, we analyzed the structures and selectivity of three halogenase variants evolved to halogenate tryptamine with orthogonal selectivity. Crystal structures and reversion mutations revealed key residues involved in altering halogenase selectivity. Density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations are both consistent with hypohalous acid as the active halogenating species in FDH catalysis. This model was used to accurately predict the site selectivity of halogenase variants toward different synthetic substrates, providing a valuable tool for implementing halogenases in biocatalysis efforts.

Directed Evolution of RebH for Catalyst-Controlled Halogenation of Indole C-H Bonds.

RebH variants capable of chlorinating substituted indoles ortho-, meta-, and para- to the indole nitrogen were evolved by directly screening for altered selectivity on deuterium-substituted probe substrates using mass spectrometry. This systematic approach allowed for rapid accumulation of beneficial mutations using simple adaptive walks and should prove generally useful for altering and optimizing the selectivity of C-H functionalization catalysts. Analysis of the beneficial mutations showed that structure-guided selection of active site residues for targeted mutagenesis can be complicated either by activity/selectivity tradeoffs that reduce the possibility of detecting such mutations or by epistatic effects that actually eliminate the benefits of a mutation in certain contexts. As a corollary to this finding, the precise manner in which the beneficial mutations identified led to the observed changes in RebH selectivity is not clear. Docking simulations suggest that tryptamine binds to these variants as tryptophan does to native halogenases, but structural studies will be required to confirm these models and shed light on how particular mutations impact tryptamine binding. Similar directed evolution efforts on other enzymes or artificial metalloenzymes could enable a wide range of C-H functionalization reactions.