Structural Basis of the Substrate Range and Enantioselectivity of Two (S)-Selective ω-Transaminases.

ω-Transaminases are enzymes that can introduce an amino group in industrially interesting compounds. We determined crystal structures of two (S)-selective ω-transaminases, one from Arthrobacter sp. (Ars-ωTA) and one from Bacillus megaterium (BM-ωTA), which have 95% identical sequences but somewhat different activity profiles. Substrate profiling measurements using a range of (R)- and (S)-substrates showed that both enzymes have a preference for substrates with large, flat cyclic side groups, for which the activity of BM-ωTA is generally somewhat higher. BM-ωTA has a preference for (S)-3,3-dimethyl-2-butylamine significantly stronger than that of Ars-ωTA, as well as a weaker enantiopreference for 1-cyclopropylethylamine. The crystal structures showed that, as expected for (S)-selective transaminases, both enzymes have the typical transaminase type I fold and have spacious active sites to accommodate largish substrates. A structure of BM-ωTA with bound (R)-α-methylbenzylamine explains the enzymes' preference for (S)-substrates. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments revealed that the presence of a tyrosine, instead of a cysteine, at position 60 increases the relative activities on several small substrates. A structure of Ars-ωTA with bound l-Ala revealed that the Arg442 side chain has been repositioned to bind the l-Ala carboxylate. Compared to the arginine switch residue in other transaminases, Arg442 is shifted by six residues in the amino acid sequence, which appears to be a consequence of extra loops near the active site that narrow the entrance to the active site.

A stereospecific solid-phase screening assay for colonies expressing both (R)- and (S)-selective ω-aminotransferases.

A novel solid-phase screening assay was developed for colonies expressing both (R)- and (S)-selective ω-aminotransferases. This high-throughput assay can be used to screen rapidly large variant libraries with enhanced substrate selectivity and enantioselectivities.

Enzymatic desymmetrising redox reactions for the asymmetric synthesis of biaryl atropisomers.

Atropisomeric biaryls carrying ortho-hydroxymethyl and formyl groups were made enantioselectively by desymmetrisation of dialdehyde or diol substrates. The oxidation of the symmetrical diol substrates was achieved using a variant of galactose oxidase (GOase), and the reduction of the dialdehydes using a panel of ketoreductases. Either M or P enantiomers of the products could be formed, with absolute configurations assigned by time-dependent DFT calculations of circular dichroism spectra. The differing selectivities observed with different biaryl structures offer an insight into the detailed structure of the active site of the GOase enzyme.

Engineering an enantioselective amine oxidase for the synthesis of pharmaceutical building blocks and alkaloid natural products.

The development of cost-effective and sustainable catalytic methods for the production of enantiomerically pure chiral amines is a key challenge facing the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries. This challenge is highlighted by the estimate that 40-45% of drug candidates contain a chiral amine, fueling a demand for broadly applicable synthetic methods that deliver target structures in high yield and enantiomeric excess. Herein we describe the development and application of a "toolbox" of monoamine oxidase variants from Aspergillus niger (MAO-N) which display remarkable substrate scope and tolerance for sterically demanding motifs, including a new variant, which exhibits high activity and enantioselectivity toward substrates containing the aminodiphenylmethane (benzhydrylamine) template. By combining rational structure-guided engineering with high-throughput screening, it has been possible to expand the substrate scope of MAO-N to accommodate amine substrates containing bulky aryl substituents. These engineered MAO-N biocatalysts have been applied in deracemization reactions for the efficient asymmetric synthesis of the generic active pharmaceutical ingredients Solifenacin and Levocetirizine as well as the natural products (R)-coniine, (R)-eleagnine, and (R)-leptaflorine. We also report a novel MAO-N mediated asymmetric oxidative Pictet-Spengler approach to the synthesis of (R)-harmicine.

Glycoprotein labeling using engineered variants of galactose oxidase obtained by directed evolution.

A directed evolution approach has been used for the generation of variants of galactose oxidase (GOase) that can selectively oxidize glycans on glycoproteins. The aldehyde function introduced on the glycans D-mannose (Man) and D-N-acetyl glucosamine (GlcNAc) by the enzyme variants could then be used to label the glycoproteins and also whole cells that display mannosides on their surface.

Thermophilic enzymes and their applications in biocatalysis: a robust aldo-keto reductase.

Extremophiles are providing a good source of novel robust enzymes for use in biocatalysis for the synthesis of new drugs. This is particularly true for the enzymes from thermophilic organisms which are more robust than their mesophilic counterparts to the conditions required for industrial bio-processes. This paper describes a new aldo-keto reductase enzyme from a thermophilic eubacteria, Thermotoga maritima which can be used for the production of primary alcohols. The enzyme has been cloned and over-expressed in Escherichia coli and has been purified and subjected to full biochemical characterization. The aldo-keto reductase can be used for production of primary alcohols using substrates including benzaldehyde, 1,2,3,6-tetrahydrobenzaldehyde and para-anisaldehyde. It is stable up to 80 degrees C, retaining over 60% activity for 5 hours at this temperature. The enzyme at pH 6.5 showed a preference for the forward, carbonyl reduction. The enzyme showed moderate stability with organic solvents, and retained 70% activity in 20% (v/v) isopropanol or DMSO. These properties are favourable for its potential industrial applications.

The binding of haem and zinc in the 1.9 A X-ray structure of Escherichia coli bacterioferritin.

The crystal structure of Escherichia coli bacterioferritin has been solved to 1.9 A, and shows the symmetrical binding of a haem molecule on the local twofold axis between subunits and a pair of metal atoms bound to each subunit at the ferroxidase centre. These metals have been identified as zinc by the analysis of the structure and X-ray data and confirmed by microfocused proton-induced X-ray emission experiments. For the first time the haem has been shown to be linked to both the internal and the external environments via a cluster of waters positioned above the haem molecule.