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BackgroundCholesterol, the precursor of all steroid hormones, is the most abundant steroid in vertebrates and exhibits highly hydrophobic properties, rendering it a difficult substrate for aqueous microbial biotransformations. In the present study, we developed a Bacillus megaterium based whole-cell system that allows the side-chain cleavage of this sterol and investigated the underlying physiological basis of the biocatalysis.ResultsCYP11A1, the side-chain cleaving cytochrome P450, was recombinantly expressed in the Gram-positive soil bacterium B. megaterium combined with the required electron transfer proteins. By applying a mixture of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and Quillaja saponin as solubilizing agents, the zoosterols cholesterol and 7-dehydrocholesterol, as well as the phytosterol β-sitosterol could be efficiently converted to pregnenolone or 7-dehydropregnenolone. Fluorescence-microscopic analysis revealed that cholesterol accumulates in the carbon and energy storage-serving poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) bodies and that the membrane proteins CYP11A1 and its redox partner adrenodoxin reductase (AdR) are likewise localized to their surrounding phospholipid/protein monolayer. The capacity to store cholesterol was absent in a mutant strain devoid of the PHB-producing polymerase subunit PhaC, resulting in a drastically decreased cholesterol conversion rate, while no effect on the expression of the recombinant proteins could be observed.ConclusionWe established a whole-cell system based on B. megaterium, which enables the conversion of the steroid hormone precursor cholesterol to pregnenolone in substantial quantities. We demonstrate that the microorganism’s PHB granules, aggregates of bioplastic coated with a protein/phospholipid monolayer, are crucial for the high conversion rate by serving as substrate storage. This microbial system opens the way for an industrial conversion of the abundantly available cholesterol to any type of steroid hormones, which represent one of the biggest groups of drugs for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-015-0300-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Cytochrome P450s are very versatile enzymes with great potential for biotechnological applications because of their ability to oxidize unactivated CH bonds. CYP105A1 from Streptomyces griseolus was first described as a herbicide-inducible sulfonylurea hydroxylase, but it is also able to convert other substrates such as vitamin D(3) . To extend the substrate pool of this interesting enzyme further, we screened a small diterpenoid compound library and were able to show the conversion of several resin acids. Binding of abietic acid, dehydroabietic acid, and isopimaric acid to the active site was assayed, and V(max) and K(m) values were calculated. The products were analyzed by NMR spectroscopy and identified as 15-hydroxyabietic acid, 15-hydroxydehydroabietic acid, and 15,16-epoxyisopimaric acid. As the observed products are difficult to obtain by chemical synthesis, CYP105A1 has proved to be a promising candidate for biotechnological applications that combine bioconversion and chemical synthesis to obtain functionalized resin acids.

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