An industrially attractive L-specific amidase was purified to homogeneity from Ochrobactrum anthropi NCIMB 40321 wild-type cells. The purified amidase displayed maximum initial activity between pH 6 and 8.5 and was fully stable for at least 1 h up to 60°C. The purified enzyme was strongly inhibited by the metal-chelating compounds EDTA and 1,10-phenanthroline. The activity of the EDTA-treated enzyme could be restored by the addition of Zn 2؉ (to 80%), Mn 2؉ (to 400%), and Mg 2؉ (to 560%). Serine and cysteine protease inhibitors did not influence the purified amidase. This enzyme displayed activity toward a broad range of substrates consisting of ␣-hydrogen-and (bulky) ␣,␣-disubstituted ␣-amino acid amides, ␣-hydroxy acid amides, and ␣-N-hydroxyamino acid amides. In all cases, only the L-enantiomer was hydrolyzed, resulting in E values of more than 150. Simple aliphatic amides, -amino and -hydroxy acid amides, and dipeptides were not converted. The gene encoding this L-amidase was cloned via reverse genetics. It encodes a polypeptide of 314 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 33,870. Since the native enzyme has a molecular mass of about 66 kDa, it most likely has a homodimeric structure. The deduced amino acid sequence showed homology to a few other stereoselective amidases and the acetamidase/ formamidase family of proteins (Pfam FmdA_AmdA). Subcloning of the gene in expression vector pTrc99A enabled efficient heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. Altogether, this amidase has a unique set of properties for application in the fine-chemicals industry.Enantiomerically pure ␣-amino acids, both natural and unnatural, form an important class of chiral building blocks for the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. Examples of important ␣-hydrogen-␣-amino acids are D-phenylglycine (DPhg) and D-p-hydroxyphenylglycine, which are produced as side chains for the manufacture of semisynthetic -lactam antibiotics such as ampicillin, amoxicillin, and cephalexin (14, 53), and D-valine, an intermediate for the pyrethroid insecticide fluvalinate (28). Another frequently used ␣-hydrogen-␣-amino acid is L-tert-leucine, which is used as a building block for a variety of antiviral (e.g., anti-human immunodeficiency virus), antiarthritis, and anticancer drugs under development and as a chiral auxiliary in chemical asymmetric synthesis (5, 10). Besides ␣-hydrogen-␣-amino acids, ␣,␣-disubstituted ␣-amino acids also constitute a group of compounds of increasing importance, as exemplified by the use of L-␣-methyl-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-␣-methyldopa) as an antihypertensive drug (34, 42), ␣-methylvaline as an intermediate for the herbicide Arsenal and related herbicides (47, 49), and L-␣-methylphenylglycine as a building block for the new fungicide fenamidone (27).Enantiomerically pure ␣-amino acids can be produced on a commercial scale by a number of different processes, both chemical and enzymatic. Biocatalytic processes that have been commercialized include the acylase process operated by Degussa (8) a...
An L-amino amidase from Mycobacterium neoaurum ATCC 25795 responsible for the enantioselective resolution of DL-x-methyl valine amide was purified and characterized. The purification procedure included ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration, and anion-exchange chromatography, which resulted in a homogeneous preparation of the enzyme with a native molecular mass of 136 kDa and a subunit molecular mass of 40 kDa. The purified enzyme displayed the highest activity at 50°C and at pH 8.0 and 9.5. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by the metal-chelating agent 1,10-phenanthroline, the disulfide-reducing agent dithiothreitol, and the cysteine proteinase inhibitor iodoacetamide. The purified amino amidase showed a unique L-enantioselective activity towards a broad range of both at-Hand at-alkyl-substituted amino acid amides, with the highest activity towards the cyclic amino acid amide DL-proline amide. No activity was measured with DL-mandelic acid amide nor with the dipeptide L-phenylalanine-L-leucine. The highest catalytic efficiency (kcad/Km ratio) was measured with DL-a-allyl alanine amide, DL-a-methyl phenylalanine amide, and DL-a-methyl leucine amide.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.