Sequence analysis of a 9-kb genomic fragment of the actinobacterium Rhodococcus opacus 1CP led to identification of an open reading frame encoding a novel fusion protein, StyA2B, with a putative function in styrene metabolism via styrene oxide and phenylacetic acid. Gene cluster analysis indicated that the highly related fusion proteins of Nocardia farcinica IFM10152 and Arthrobacter aurescens TC1 are involved in a similar physiological process. Whereas 413 amino acids of the N terminus of StyA2B are highly similar to those of the oxygenases of two-component styrene monooxygenases (SMOs) from pseudomonads, the residual 160 amino acids of the C terminus show significant homology to the flavin reductases of these systems. Cloning and functional expression of His 10 -StyA2B revealed for the first time that the fusion protein does in fact catalyze two separate reactions. Strictly NADH-dependent reduction of flavins and highly enantioselective oxygenation of styrene to (S)-styrene oxide were shown. Inhibition studies and photometric analysis of recombinant StyA2B indicated the absence of tightly bound heme and flavin cofactors in this self-sufficient monooxygenase. StyA2B oxygenates a spectrum of aromatic compounds similar to those of two-component SMOs. However, the specific activities of the flavin-reducing and styrene-oxidizing functions of StyA2B are one to two orders of magnitude lower than those of StyA/StyB from Pseudomonas sp. strain VLB120.The incorporation of one atom of oxygen during hydroxylation, epoxidation, sulfoxidation, or Baeyer-Villiger oxidation is a common initial step of the aerobic degradation of aromatic compounds by microorganisms. In bacteria, these reactions are most frequently catalyzed by inducible flavoprotein monooxygenases (EC 1.14.13 [57]). The majority of these enzymes (socalled single-component flavoprotein monooxygenases) utilize electrons from NAD(P)H, which are transferred to a noncovalently bound flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) in order to activate molecular oxygen as a flavin (hydro)peroxide. Depending on the protonation of this intermediate and the type of substrate, an oxygen atom is then incorporated by nucleophilic or electrophilic attack. More recently, different twocomponent flavoprotein monooxygenases have been characterized (57). These systems cover an NAD(P)H-dependent flavin reductase in order to generate reduced flavin and an oxygenase that utilizes this cofactor for the activation of oxygen.The exquisite regio-and stereoselectivities of oxygen insertion by flavoprotein monooxygenases favor these enzymes for biocatalytic applications (23,24,33). This is especially true because chemical synthesis approaches by hetero-or homogenic catalysis often do not yield a sufficiently high enantiomeric excess for the production of pharmaceuticals and their chiral building blocks. The use of oxygen as an inexpensive nontoxic oxidant and mild reaction conditions are additional advantages with the potential for increasing the environmental sustainability of oxygenase-catalyzed bio...

Two-component flavoprotein monooxygenases are emerging biocatalysts that generally consist of a monooxygenase and a reductase component. Here we show that Rhodococcus opacus 1CP encodes a multifunctional enantioselective flavoprotein monooxygenase system composed of a single styrene monooxygenase (SMO) (StyA1) and another styrene monooxygenase fused to an NADH-flavin oxidoreductase (StyA2B). StyA1 and StyA2B convert styrene and chemical analogues to the corresponding epoxides at the expense of FADH 2 provided from StyA2B. The StyA1/StyA2B system presents the highest monooxygenase activity in an equimolar ratio of StyA1 and StyA2B, indicating (transient) protein complex formation. StyA1 is also active when FADH 2 is supplied by StyB from Pseudomonas sp. VLB120 or PheA2 from Rhodococcus opacus 1CP. However, in both cases the reductase produces an excess of FADH 2 , resulting in a high waste of NADH. The epoxidation rate of StyA1 heavily depends on the type of reductase. This supports that the FADH 2 -induced activation of StyA1 requires interprotein communication. We conclude that the StyA1/StyA2B system represents a novel type of multifunctional flavoprotein monooxygenase. Its unique mechanism of cofactor utilization provides new opportunities for biotechnological applications and is highly relevant from a structural and evolutionary point of view.The environmentally harmful hydrocarbon styrene is readily biodegradable by various classes of microorganisms covering Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria as well as fungi (e.g., ascomycetes). Two major pathways for styrene mineralization have been described (reviewed in references 23, 26, and 33); of these, the most common one is initiated by a monooxygenase-catalyzed epoxidation of the vinyl side chain. Due to their biotechnological potential, the styrene monooxygenases (SMOs) involved in this reaction have received considerable attention. Most SMOs have been described for pseudomonads and were investigated for their biochemical properties (5,13,27,31,46) and their biotechnological applicability in cell-free (16, 17) or whole-cell systems (3,12,28,29,30,32,37). All SMOs investigated thus far convert styrene in a highly enantioselective manner to (S)-styrene oxide, which is a useful precursor for several chiral synthons and pharmaceuticals (2,6,14,26,34). Moreover, the relaxed substrate specificity of SMOs allows an enantioselective conversion of substituted styrene derivatives and structurally related compounds, like indene and dihydronaphthalene, as well as phenylalkylsulfides ( Fig. 1) (17, 40, 45), thus increasing their biocatalytic potential.Typical SMOs of pseudomonads consist of two enzymatically active protein components encoded by genes that are usually clustered adjacent to each other (styA and styB) (Fig. 2a) (26,43,46). The flavin reductase subunit (StyB) reduces flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) at the expense of NADH.The monooxygenase subunit (StyA) then utilizes the reduced flavin (FADH 2 ) to activate molecular oxygen for styrene attack (Fig. 2b)....

Pseudomonas putida GJ31 is able to simultaneously grow on toluene and chlorobenzene. When cultures of this strain were inhibited with 3-fluorocatechol while growing on toluene or chlorobenzene, 3-methylcatechol or 3-chlorocatechol, respectively, accumulated in the medium. To establish the catabolic routes for these catechols, activities of enzymes of the (modified) ortho-and meta-cleavage pathways were measured in crude extracts of cells of P. putida GJ31 grown on various aromatic substrates, including chlorobenzene. The enzymes of the modified ortho-cleavage pathway were never present, while the enzymes of the meta-cleavage pathway were detected in all cultures. This indicated that chloroaromatics and methylaromatics are both converted via the meta-cleavage pathway. Meta cleavage of 3-chlorocatechol usually leads to the formation of a reactive acylchloride, which inactivates the catechol 2,3-dioxygenase and blocks further degradation of catechols. However, partially purified catechol 2,3-dioxygenase of P. putida GJ31 converted 3-chlorocatechol to 2-hydroxycis,cis-muconic acid. Apparently, P. putida GJ31 has a meta-cleavage enzyme which is resistant to inactivation by the acylchloride, providing this strain with the exceptional ability to degrade both toluene and chlorobenzene via the meta-cleavage pathway.Various bacterial cultures which can use chloroaromatics as the single source of carbon and energy for growth, resulting in the formation of carbon dioxide, chloride, and biomass, have been described. These organisms can be differentiated on the basis of the catabolic pathways dealing with the substituents. Chlorosubstituents can be removed by initial oxygenolytic, reductive, or hydrolytic reactions. Further mineralization can then occur via classical pathways such as the 3-oxoadipate and the meta-cleavage pathways. However, the majority of the organisms able to mineralize chlorinated aromatics do not possess enzyme systems capable of initial dechlorination. They transform chlorinated aromatics to chlorocatechols, which are further metabolized by the enzymes of the modified orthocleavage pathway, and dechlorination occurs after ring cleavage (32).It is generally accepted that degradation of chloroaromatics does not proceed via the meta-cleavage pathway (20,26,29). An explanation for this has been found in the production of an acylchloride from 3-chlorocatechol by the catechol 2,3-dioxygenase of the meta-cleavage pathway, which leads to rapid suicide inactivation of the enzyme (3). Therefore, meta cleavage is considered to be unsuitable for the mineralization of haloaromatics that are degraded via halocatechols.Whereas chlorocatechols are mineralized via ortho-cleavage pathways, methylaromatics are commonly mineralized via meta-cleavage routes. Simultaneous metabolism of chloro-and methylcatechols often creates biochemical anarchy. meta cleavage leads to substrate misrouting in the case of 4-chlorocatechol or formation of a suicide product in the case of 3-chlorocatechol. Formation of dead-end methyllactones ca...

ABSTRACTStyrene oxide isomerase (SOI) is involved in peripheral styrene catabolism of bacteria and converts styrene oxide to phenylacetaldehyde. Here, we report on the identification, enrichment, and biochemical characterization of a novel representative from the actinobacteriumRhodococcus opacus1CP. The enzyme, which is strongly induced during growth on styrene, was shown to be membrane integrated, and a convenient procedure was developed to highly enrich the protein in active form from the wild-type host. A specific activity of about 370 U mg−1represents the highest activity reported for this enzyme class so far. This, in combination with a wide pH and temperature tolerance, the independence from cofactors, and the ability to convert a spectrum of substituted styrene oxides, makes a biocatalytic application imaginable. First, semipreparative conversions were performed from which up to 760 μmol of the pure phenylacetaldehyde could be obtained from 130 U of enriched SOI. Product concentrations of up to 76 mM were achieved. However, due to the high chemical reactivity of the aldehyde function, SOI was shown to be the subject of an irreversible product inhibition. A half-life of 15 min was determined at a phenylacetaldehyde concentration of about 55 mM, indicating substantial limitations of applicability and the need to modify the process.

The 4-chloro-and 2,4-dichlorophenol-degrading strain Rhodococcus opacus 1CP has previously been shown to acquire, during prolonged adaptation, the ability to mineralize 2-chlorophenol. In addition, homogeneous chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase from 2-chlorophenol-grown biomass has shown relatively high activity towards 3-chlorocatechol. Based on sequences of the N terminus and tryptic peptides of this enzyme, degenerate PCR primers were now designed and used for cloning of the respective gene from genomic DNA of strain 1CP. A 9.5-kb fragment containing nine open reading frames was obtained on pROP1. Besides other genes, a gene cluster consisting of four chlorocatechol catabolic genes was identified. As judged by sequence similarity and correspondence of predicted N termini with those of purified enzymes, the open reading frames correspond to genes for a second chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase (ClcA2), a second chloromuconate cycloisomerase (ClcB2), a second dienelactone hydrolase (ClcD2), and a muconolactone isomerase-related enzyme (ClcF). All enzymes of this new cluster are only distantly related to the known chlorocatechol enzymes and appear to represent new evolutionary lines of these activities. UV overlay spectra as well as high-pressure liquid chromatography analyses confirmed that 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate is transformed by ClcB2 to 5-chloromuconolactone, which during turnover by ClcF gives cis-dienelactone as the sole product. cis-Dienelactone was further hydrolyzed by ClcD2 to maleylacetate. ClcF, despite its sequence similarity to muconolactone isomerases, no longer showed muconolactone-isomerizing activity and thus represents an enzyme dedicated to its new function as a 5-chloromuconolactone dehalogenase. Thus, during 3-chlorocatechol degradation by R. opacus 1CP, dechlorination is catalyzed by a muconolactone isomerase-related enzyme rather than by a specialized chloromuconate cycloisomerase.

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The maleylacetate reductase of 3-chlorobenzoate-grown cells of Pseudomonas sp. strain B13 has been purified 50-fold. The enzyme converted 2-chloromaleylacetate to 3-oxoadipate with temporary occurrence of maleylacetate; 1 mol of chloride was eliminated during the conversion of 1 mol of 2-chloro- and 2,3-dichloromaleylacetate; 2 mol of NADH were consumed per mol of 2-chloro- and 2,3-dichloromaleylacetate while only 1 mol was necessary to catalyze the conversion of maleylacetate or 2-methylmaleylacetate. The maleylacetate reductase failed to use fumarylacetate as a substrate. The role of the enzyme in the chloroaromatics degradation is discussed.

Herein we describe the first representative of an E2-type two-component styrene monooxygenase of proteobacteria. It comprises a single epoxidase protein (VpStyA1) and a two domain protein (VpStyA2B) harboring an epoxidase (A2) and a FAD-reductase (B) domain. It was annotated as VpStyA1/VpStyA2B of Variovorax paradoxus EPS. VpStyA2B serves mainly as NADH:FAD-oxidoreductase. A Km of 33.6 ± 4.0 µM for FAD and a kcat of 22.3 ± 1.1 s−1 were determined and resulted in a catalytic efficiency (kcat Km−1) of 0.64 s−1 μM−1. To investigate its NADH:FAD-oxidoreductase function the linker between A2- and B-domain (AREAV) was mutated. One mutant (AAAAA) showed 18.7-fold higher affinity for FAD (kcat Km−1 of 5.21 s−1 μM−1) while keeping wildtype NADH-affinity and -oxidation activity. Both components, VpStyA2B and VpStyA1, showed monooxygenase activity on styrene of 0.14 U mg−1 and 0.46 U mg−1, as well as on benzyl methyl sulfide of 1.62 U mg−1 and 3.11 U mg−1, respectively. The high sulfoxidase activity was the reason to test several thioanisole-like substrates in biotransformations. VpStyA1 showed high substrate conversions (up to 95% in 2 h) and produced dominantly (S)-enantiomeric sulfoxides of all tested substrates. The AAAAA-mutant showed a 1.6-fold increased monooxygenase activity. In comparison, the GQWCSQY-mutant did neither show monooxygenase nor efficient FAD-reductase activity. Hence, the linker between the two domains of VpStyA2B has effects on the reductase as well as on the monooxygenase performance. Overall, this monooxygenase represents a promising candidate for biocatalyst development and studying natural fusion proteins.