Chemo- and stereoselective reduction of β-keto esters by spores and various morphological forms of Mucor rouxii

New metabolites of drospirenone obtained in Mucorales fungi culture

“…Therefore, in conformity with our previous studies on fungi biotransformation and biocatalytic steroid modification [14,15,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34], in the present work various strains of different species of Mucorales have been screened for their capabilities to biotransform DRSP.…”

“…Filamentous fungi are particularly used in a number of bioconversions, including ketoreduction, hydroxylation, ester hydrolysis and hydrogenation of double bonds in steroids, and conversions of alkaloids and xenobiotics. Fungi belonging to the Order Mucorales, especially some species of Mucor and Rhizopus, are an important biochemical resource to mediate steps in organic synthesis, due to their fast growth and high enzymatic activity [14,15]. Another advantage of this group of fungi is that they rarely produce mycotoxins, making them good candidates to be investigated in the bioconversion of products for clinical use.…”

Combination Strategy Using Pure Enzymes and Whole Cells as Biocatalysts for the Preparation of 2‐Hydroxyesters and Lactones from 2‐Oxoglutaric Acid.

“…10 The synthesis of tetrahydro-5-oxo-2furancarboxylic acid alkyl esters following a chemoenzymatic way, in which biocatalytic procedures were used in combination with reagents of the traditional synthetic approach, has also been reported. 11 Our previous work on lipase-catalyzed esterification of carboxylic acids 12 and stereoselective reduction of bketoesters 13 prompted us to explore the application of the combination of both methodologies in a consecutive way, using 2-oxo-glutaric acid as the substrate. The aim of the work was to find a green alternative to traditional chemical reactions, which involve reagents and reaction conditions not friendly to the environment.…”

“…In this step we studied the enzymatic reduction of the dialkyl 2-oxoglutarates. Considering the good performance shown by the fungus M. rouxii in the reduction of b-ketoesters, 13 we decided to use it as a microbial source. M. rouxii is a dimorphic fungus that can grow as a cenocytic mycelium under aerobic conditions or as yeast cells under anaerobiosis and high glucose levels in the culture medium.…”

“…Di-isobutyl-2-hydroxyglutarate 4f had not been previously reported in literature. This novel compound was completely identified by spectroscopic methods: FTIR, 1 H and 13 C NMR and HR-MS.…”