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Zhang H, Xie S, Yang J, Ye N, Gao F, Gallou F, Gao L, Lei X. Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of 2-Aryl Thiazolines from 4-Hydroxybenzaldehydes Using Vanillyl Alcohol Oxidases. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202405833. [PMID: 38748747 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202405833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Nitrogen heterocycles are commonly found in bioactive natural products and drugs. However, the biocatalytic tools for nitrogen heterocycle synthesis are limited. Herein, we report the discovery of vanillyl alcohol oxidases (VAOs) as efficient biocatalysts for the one-pot synthesis of 2-aryl thiazolines from various 4-hydroxybenzaldehydes and aminothiols. The wild-type biocatalyst features a broad scope of 4-hydroxybenzaldehydes. Though the scope of aminothiols is limited, it could be improved via semi-rational protein engineering, generating a variant to produce previously inaccessible cysteine-derived bioactive 2-aryl thiazolines using the wild-type VAO. Benefiting from the derivatizable functional groups in the enzymatic products, we further chemically modified these products to expand the chemical space, offering a new chemoenzymatic strategy for the green and efficient synthesis of structurally diverse 2-aryl-thiazoline derivatives to prompt their use in drug discovery and catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haowen Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuhan Xie
- Department of Biological Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215123, People's Republic of China
| | - Jun Yang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People's Republic of China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Science, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Ning Ye
- Chemical & Analytical Development, Suzhou Novartis Technical Development Co., Ltd., Changshu, 215537, People's Republic of China
- Current Address: Rezubio Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Zhuhai, 519070, People's Republic of China
| | - Feng Gao
- Chemical & Analytical Development, Suzhou Novartis Technical Development Co., Ltd., Changshu, 215537, People's Republic of China
| | - Fabrice Gallou
- Chemical and Analytical Development, Novartis Pharma AG, Novartis Campus, Basel, 4056, Switzerland
| | - Lei Gao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoguang Lei
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People's Republic of China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Science, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People's Republic of China
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Eggerichs D, Weindorf N, Weddeling HG, Van der Linden IM, Tischler D. Substrate scope expansion of 4-phenol oxidases by rational enzyme selection and sequence-function relations. Commun Chem 2024; 7:123. [PMID: 38831005 PMCID: PMC11148156 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-024-01207-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Enzymes are natures' catalysts and will have a lasting impact on (organic) synthesis as they possess unchallenged regio- and stereo selectivity. On the downside, this high selectivity limits enzymes' substrate range and hampers their universal application. Therefore, substrate scope expansion of enzyme families by either modification of known biocatalysts or identification of new members is a key challenge in enzyme-driven catalysis. Here, we present a streamlined approach to rationally select enzymes with proposed functionalities from the ever-increasing amount of available sequence data. In a case study on 4-phenol oxidoreductases, eight enzymes of the oxidase branch were selected from 292 sequences on basis of the properties of first shell residues of the catalytic pocket, guided by the computational tool A2CA. Correlations between these residues and enzyme activity yielded robust sequence-function relations, which were exploited by site-saturation mutagenesis. Application of a peroxidase-independent oxidase screening resulted in 16 active enzyme variants which were up to 90-times more active than respective wildtype enzymes and up to 6-times more active than the best performing natural variants. The results were supported by kinetic experiments and structural models. The newly introduced amino acids confirmed the correlation studies which overall highlights the successful logic of the presented approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Eggerichs
- Microbial Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Nils Weindorf
- Microbial Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Heiner G Weddeling
- Microbial Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Inja M Van der Linden
- Microbial Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany
| | - Dirk Tischler
- Microbial Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany.
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3
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Eggerichs D, Weindorf N, Mascotti ML, Welzel N, Fraaije MW, Tischler D. Vanillyl alcohol oxidase from Diplodia corticola: Residues Ala420 and Glu466 allow for efficient catalysis of syringyl derivatives. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:104898. [PMID: 37295774 PMCID: PMC10404669 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Vanillyl alcohol oxidases (VAOs) belong to the 4-phenol oxidases family and are found predominantly in lignin-degrading ascomycetes. Systematical investigation of the enzyme family at the sequence level resulted in discovery and characterization of the second recombinantly produced VAO member, DcVAO, from Diplodia corticola. Remarkably high activities for 2,6-substituted substrates like 4-allyl-2,6-dimethoxy-phenol (3.5 ± 0.02 U mg-1) or 4-(hydroxymethyl)-2,6-dimethoxyphenol (6.3 ± 0.5 U mg-1) were observed, which could be attributed to a Phe to Ala exchange in the catalytic center. In order to rationalize this rare substrate preference among VAOs, we resurrected and characterized three ancestral enzymes and performed mutagenesis analyses. The results indicate that a Cys/Glu exchange was required to retain activity for ɣ-hydroxylations and shifted the acceptance towards benzyl ethers (up to 4.0 ± 0.1 U mg-1). Our findings contribute to the understanding of the functionality of VAO enzyme group, and with DcVAO, we add a new enzyme to the repertoire of ether cleaving biocatalysts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Eggerichs
- Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Nils Weindorf
- Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Maria Laura Mascotti
- Department of Molecular Enzymology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Facultad de Química Bioquímica y Farmacia, IMIBIO-SL CONICET, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, San Luis, Argentina
| | - Natalie Welzel
- Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Marco W Fraaije
- Department of Molecular Enzymology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Dirk Tischler
- Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
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Guo Y, Alvigini L, Trajkovic M, Alonso-Cotchico L, Monza E, Savino S, Marić I, Mattevi A, Fraaije MW. Structure- and computational-aided engineering of an oxidase to produce isoeugenol from a lignin-derived compound. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7195. [PMID: 36418310 PMCID: PMC9684555 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34912-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Various 4-alkylphenols can be easily obtained through reductive catalytic fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass. Selective dehydrogenation of 4-n-propylguaiacol results in the formation of isoeugenol, a valuable flavor and fragrance molecule and versatile precursor compound. Here we present the engineering of a bacterial eugenol oxidase to catalyze this reaction. Five mutations, identified from computational predictions, are first introduced to render the enzyme more thermostable. Other mutations are then added and analyzed to enhance chemoselectivity and activity. Structural insight demonstrates that the slow catalytic activity of an otherwise promising enzyme variant is due the formation of a slowly-decaying covalent substrate-flavin cofactor adduct that can be remedied by targeted residue changes. The final engineered variant comprises eight mutations, is thermostable, displays good activity and acts as a highly chemoselective 4-n-propylguaiacol oxidase. We lastly use our engineered biocatalyst in an illustrative preparative reaction at gram-scale. Our findings show that a natural enzyme can be redesigned into a tailored biocatalyst capable of valorizing lignin-based monophenols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiming Guo
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Molecular Enzymology Group, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Laura Alvigini
- grid.8982.b0000 0004 1762 5736Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Milos Trajkovic
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Molecular Enzymology Group, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Simone Savino
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Molecular Enzymology Group, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Ivana Marić
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Molecular Enzymology Group, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Andrea Mattevi
- grid.8982.b0000 0004 1762 5736Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Lazzaro Spallanzani”, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Marco W. Fraaije
- grid.4830.f0000 0004 0407 1981Molecular Enzymology Group, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
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