An engineered (S)-selective imine reductase from Streptomyces sp. GF3546 (SIR46) showed twice the activity of the wild type and high thermostability at 50°C. Using a biocatalyst based on SIR46, we...

Chiral 2-methylpiperidine (2-MPI) is an important building block that has potential for applications in pharmaceuticals and pesticides. In this study, we observed that the hydrolase in Arthrobacter sp. K5 exhibits high (S)-selectivity toward rac-N-pivaloyl-2-MPI to yield (S)-2-MPI with 80.2% enantiomeric excess (ee) in a 38.2% conversion. The hydrolase, which was identified by analyses of partial amino acid sequences of the purified enzyme and genome sequence of Arthrobacter sp. K5, exhibited moderate homology with amidohydrolases up to 67% (molinate hydrolase from Gulosibacter molinativorax). The hydrolase gene was overexpressed in Rhodococcus erythropolis. The recombinant cells produced (S)-2-MPI with 83.5% ee in a 48.4% conversion (E = 26.3) from 100 mM rac-N-pivaloyl-2-MPI. These results suggest the possibility of an efficient preparation of chiral 2-MPI in kinetic resolution.