The monooxygenase
enzyme CYP101B1, from Novosphingobium
aromaticivorans DSM12444, binds norisoprenoids more
tightly than monoterpenoids and oxidized these substrates with high
regioselectivity. Ionols bound less tightly to CYP101B1 than ionones,
but the levels of product formation remained high and the selectivity
of oxidation was similar to that observed for the parent norisoprenoid.
The structurally related sesquiterpene lactone (+)-sclareolide (9) was stereoselectively hydroxylated by CYP101B1 to (S)-(+)-3-hydroxysclareolide (9a). The turnover
of monoterpenoid derivatives showed low levels of product formation
and selectivity despite promising binding data. CYP101B1 catalyzed
the selective oxidation of (1R)-(−)-nopol
(14) and cis-jasmone (15), generating >90% (1R)-(−)-5-hydroxynopol
(14a) and 4-hydroxy-cis-jasmone (15a), respectively. To develop strategies for the efficient
and selective oxidation of monoterpenoid-based substrates using CYP101B1,
we investigated the binding and catalytic properties of terpenoid
acetates. The ester functional group of these substrates mimicked
the carbonyl moiety of norisoprenoids and anchored the monoterpenoid
acetates in the active site of CYP101B1 with high affinity for the
monoterpenoid acetates. The oxidation of these substrates by CYP101B1
occurred with product formation rates in excess of 1000 min–1 and total turnover numbers of greater than 5000 being observed in
all but one instance. Critically, the oxidations were regioselective,
with several being stereoselective. (−)-Myrtenyl acetate (20) was oxidized regioselectively (>95%) to yield cis-4-hydroxy-myrtenyl acetate (20a), which
was further oxidized to 4-oxomyrtenyl acetate (20b) using
a whole-cell system, providing a biocatalytic route to generate intermediates
used in the production of cannabinoid derivatives. The ester carbonyl
moiety could also be used as a directing group also to enhance the
activity and control the selectivity of P450-catalyzed reactions;
for example, the turnover of l-(−)-bornyl acetate
(18) and isobornyl acetate (19) by CYP101B1
generated 9-hydroxybornyl acetate (18a) and 5-exo-hydroxyisobornyl acetate (19a), respectively,
as the sole products.