Aromatic N-oxides (ArNÀOX) are desirable biologically active compounds with a potential for application in pharmacy and agriculture industries. As biocatalysis is making a great impact in organic synthesis, there is still a lack of efficient and convenient enzyme-based techniques for the production of aromatic N-oxides. In this study, a recombinant soluble di-iron monooxygenase (SDIMO) PmlABCDEF overexpressed in Escherichia coli was showed to produce various aromatic N-oxides. Out of 98 tested Nheterocycles, seventy were converted to the corresponding N-oxides without any side oxidation products. This whole-cell biocatalyst showed a high activity towards pyridines, pyrazines, and pyrimidines. It was also capable of oxidizing bulky N-heterocycles with two or even three aromatic rings. Being entirely biocatalytic, our approach provides an environmentally friendly and mild method for the production of aromatic N-oxides avoiding the use of strong oxidants, organometallic catalysts, undesirable solvents, or other environment unfriendly reagents.

A bacterial strain 5HP capable of degrading and utilizing 5-hydroxypicolinic acid as the sole source of carbon and energy was isolated from soil. In addition, the isolate 5HP could also utilize 3-hydroxypyridine and 3-cyanopyridine as well as nicotinic, benzoic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids for growth in the basic salt media. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the isolate 5HP was shown to belong to the genus Pusillimonas. Both the bioconversion analysis using resting cells and the enzymatic assay showed that the degradation of 5-hydroxypicolinic acid, 3-hydroxypyridine and nicotinic acid was inducible and proceeded via formation of the same metabolite, 2,5-dihydroxypyridine. The activity of a novel enzyme, 5-hydroxypicolinate 2-monooxygenase, was detected in the cell-free extracts prepared from 5-hydroxypicolinate-grown cells. The enzyme was partially purified and was shown to catalyze the oxidative decarboxylation of 5-hydroxypicolinate to 2,5-dihydroxypyridine. The activity of 5-hydroxypicolinate 2-monooxygenase was dependent on O2, NADH and FAD.

bAt present, there are no published data on catabolic pathways of N-heterocyclic compounds, in which all carbon atoms carry a substituent. We identified the genetic locus and characterized key reactions in the aerobic degradation of tetramethylpyrazine in Rhodococcus jostii strain TMP1. By comparing protein expression profiles, we identified a tetramethylpyrazine-inducible protein of 40 kDa and determined its identity by tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) de novo sequencing. Searches against an R. jostii TMP1 genome database allowed the identification of the tetramethylpyrazine-inducible protein-coding gene. The tetramethylpyrazine-inducible gene was located within a 13-kb genome cluster, denominated the tetramethylpyrazine degradation (tpd) locus, that encoded eight proteins involved in tetramethylpyrazine catabolism. The genes from this cluster were cloned and transferred into tetramethylpyrazine-nondegrading Rhodococcus erythropolis strain SQ1. This allowed us to verify the function of the tpd locus, to isolate intermediate metabolites, and to reconstruct the catabolic pathway of tetramethylpyrazine. We report that the degradation of tetramethylpyrazine is a multistep process that includes initial oxidative aromatic-ring cleavage by tetramethylpyrazine oxygenase, TpdAB; subsequent hydrolysis by (Z)-N,N=-(but-2-ene-2,3-diyl)diacetamide hydrolase, TpdC; and further intermediate metabolite reduction by aminoalcohol dehydrogenase, TpdE. Thus, the genes responsible for bacterial degradation of pyrazines have been identified, and intermediate metabolites of tetramethylpyrazine degradation have been isolated for the first time. P yrazines, monocyclic aromatic rings with two nitrogen atoms in para position, are a class of compounds that occur almost ubiquitously in nature. Various pyrazines can be synthesized both chemically and biologically, including tetramethylpyrazine (TTMP), which is produced by different bacteria (1, 2) or plants (3, 4). However, there is very little information available on the biodegradation of these N-heterocyclic compounds. While bacterial strains able to use various alkyl-substituted pyrazines as a sole carbon and energy source have been isolated and described (5-9), almost nothing is known about the degradation pathways of alkylpyrazines, including tetramethylpyrazine, in which all carbon atoms carry a substituent.Under aerobic conditions, alkylated pyrazines are metabolized via oxidative degradation, leading to the hydroxylation of the ring at a free position. Rhodococcus erythropolis DSM 6138 and Arthrobacter sp. strain DSM 6137 can use 2,5-dimethylpyrazine as a source of carbon and energy. The catabolism of 2,5-dimethylpyrazine by these microorganisms gives rise to the intermediate metabolite 2-hydroxy-3,6-dimethylpyrazine, which accumulates in the medium, indicating that ring hydroxylation occurs during the initial steps of degradation (5). However, no enzymes involved in this bioconversion were reported in the patent that describes the aforementioned reactions (5).The 2,5-dimethylpyraz...

Pyridinols and pyridinamines are important intermediates with many applications in chemical industry. The pyridine derivatives are in great demand as synthons for pharmaceutical products. Moreover, pyridines are used either as biologically active substances or as building blocks for polymers with unique physical properties. Application of enzymes or whole cells is an attractive strategy for preparation of hydroxylated pyridines since the methods for chemical synthesis of pyridinols, particularly aminopyridinols, are usually limited or inefficient. Burkholderia sp. MAK1 (DSM102049), capable of using pyridin-2-ol as the sole carbon and energy source, was isolated from soil. Whole cells of Burkholderia sp. MAK1 were confirmed to possess a good ability to convert different pyridin-2-amines and pyridin-2-ones into their 5-hydroxy derivatives. Moreover, several methylpyridines as well as methylated pyrazines were converted to appropriate N-oxides. In conclusion, regioselective oxyfunctionalization of pyridine derivatives using whole cells of Burkholderia sp. MAK1 is a promising method for the preparation of various pyridin-5-ols and pyridin-N-oxides.

Microbial degradation of 2-hydroxypyridine usually results in the formation of a blue pigment (nicotine blue). In contrast, the sp. strain MAK1 bacterium utilizes 2-hydroxypyridine without the accumulation of nicotine blue. This scarcely investigated degradation pathway presumably employs 2-hydroxypyridine 5-monooxygenase, an elusive enzyme that has been hypothesized but has yet to be identified or characterized. The isolation of the mutant strain sp. MAK1 ΔP5 that is unable to utilize 2-hydroxypyridine has led to the identification of a gene cluster (designated ) which is responsible for the degradation of 2-hydroxypyridine. The activity of 2-hydroxypyridine 5-monooxygenase has been assigned to a soluble diiron monooxygenase (SDIMO) encoded by a five-gene cluster (, ,, , and). A 4.5-kb DNA fragment containing all five genes has been successfully expressed in sp. MAK1 ΔP5 cells. We have proved that the recombinant HpdABCDE protein catalyzes the enzymatic turnover of 2-hydroxypyridine to 2,5-dihydroxypyridine. Moreover, we have confirmed that emerging 2,5-dihydroxypyridine is a substrate for HpdF, an enzyme similar to 2,5-dihydroxypyridine 5,6-dioxygenases that are involved in the catabolic pathways of nicotine and nicotinic acid. The proteins and genes identified in this study have allowed the identification of a novel degradation pathway of 2-hydroxypyridine. Our results provide a better understanding of the biodegradation of pyridine derivatives in nature. Also, the discovered 2-hydroxypyridine 5-monooxygenase may be an attractive catalyst for the regioselective synthesis of various-heterocyclic compounds. The degradation pathway of 2-hydroxypyridine without the accumulation of a blue pigment is relatively unexplored, as, to our knowledge, no genetic data related to this process have ever been presented. In this paper, we describe genes and enzymes involved in this little-studied catabolic pathway. This work provides new insights into the metabolism of 2-hydroxypyridine in nature. A broad-range substrate specificity of 2-hydroxypyridine 5-monooxygenase, a key enzyme in the degradation, makes this biocatalyst attractive for the regioselective hydroxylation of pyridine derivatives.