Dioxygen Activation by the Biofuel-Generating Cytochrome P450 OleT

Engineering Electron Transfer Pathway of Cytochrome P450s

Cytochrome P450s (P450s), a superfamily of heme-containing enzymes, existed in animals, plants, and microorganisms. P450s can catalyze various regional and stereoselective oxidation reactions, which are widely used in natural product biosynthesis, drug metabolism, and biotechnology. In a typical catalytic cycle, P450s use redox proteins or domains to mediate electron transfer from NAD(P)H to heme iron. Therefore, the main factors determining the catalytic efficiency of P450s include not only the P450s themselves but also their redox-partners and electron transfer pathways. In this review, the electron transfer pathway engineering strategies of the P450s catalytic system are reviewed from four aspects: cofactor regeneration, selection of redox-partners, P450s and redox-partner engineering, and electrochemically or photochemically driven electron transfer.

Enhancing ferryl accumulation in H2O2-dependent cytochrome P450s

A facile strategy is presented to enhance the accumulation of ferryl (iron(IV)-oxo) species in H2O2 dependent cytochrome P450s (CYPs) of the CYP152 family. We report the characterization of a highly chemoselective CYP decarboxylase from Staphylococcus aureus (OleTSA) that is soluble at high concentrations. Examination of OleTSA Compound I (CpdI) accumulation with a variety of fatty acid substrates reveals a dependence on resting spin-state equilibrium. Alteration of this equilibrium through targeted mutagenesis of the proximal pocket favors the high-spin form, and as a result, enhances Cpd-I accumulation to nearly stoichiometric yields.

P450 fatty acid decarboxylase

P450 fatty acid decarboxylases are able to utilize hydrogen peroxide as the sole cofactor to decarboxylate free fatty acids to produce α-olefins with abundant applications as drop-in biofuels and important chemical precursors. In this chapter, we review diverse approaches for discovery, characterization, engineering, and applications of P450 fatty acid decarboxylases. Information gained from structural data has been advancing our understandings of the unique mechanisms underlying alkene production, and providing important insights for exploring new activities. To build an efficient olefin-producing system, various engineering strategies have been proposed and applied to this unusual P450 catalytic system. Furthermore, we highlight a select number of applied examples of P450 fatty acid decarboxylases in enzyme cascades and metabolic engineering.

Catalytic and Electrocatalytic Mechanisms of Cytochromes P450 in the Development of Biosensors and Bioreactors

Cytochromes P450 are a unique family of enzymes found in all Kingdoms of living organisms (animals, bacteria, plants, fungi, and archaea), whose main function is biotransformation of exogenous and endogenous compounds. The review discusses approaches to enhancing the efficiency of electrocatalysis by cytochromes P450 for their use in biotechnology and design of biosensors and describes main methods in the development of reconstituted and electrochemical catalytic systems based on the biochemical mechanism of cytochromes P450, as well as and modern trends for their practical application.

A Ferric-Superoxide Intermediate Initiates P450-Catalyzed Cyclic Dipeptide Dimerization

The cytochrome P450 (CYP) AspB is involved in the biosynthesis of the diketopiperazine (DKP) aspergilazine A. Tryptophan-linked dimeric DKP alkaloids are a large family of natural products that are found in numerous species and exhibit broad and often potent bioactivity. The proposed mechanisms for C-N bond formation by AspB, and similar C-C bond formations by related CYPs, have invoked the use of a ferryl-intermediate as an oxidant to promote substrate dimerization. Here, the parallel application of steady-state and transient kinetic approaches reveals a very different mechanism that involves a ferric-superoxide species as a primary oxidant to initiate DKP-assembly. Single turnover kinetic isotope effects and a substrate analog suggest the probable nature and site for abstraction. The direct observation of CYP-superoxide reactivity rationalizes the atypical outcome of AspB and reveals a new reaction manifold in heme enzymes.

Biosynthesis pathways of expanding carbon chains for producing advanced biofuels

Because the thermodynamic property is closer to gasoline, advanced biofuels (C ≥ 6) are appealing for replacing non-renewable fossil fuels using biosynthesis method that has presented a promising approach. Synthesizing advanced biofuels (C ≥ 6), in general, requires the expansion of carbon chains from three carbon atoms to more than six carbon atoms. Despite some specific biosynthesis pathways that have been developed in recent years, adequate summary is still lacking on how to obtain an effective metabolic pathway. Review of biosynthesis pathways for expanding carbon chains will be conducive to selecting, optimizing and discovering novel synthetic route to obtain new advanced biofuels. Herein, we first highlighted challenges on expanding carbon chains, followed by presentation of two biosynthesis strategies and review of three different types of biosynthesis pathways of carbon chain expansion for synthesizing advanced biofuels. Finally, we provided an outlook for the introduction of gene-editing technology in the development of new biosynthesis pathways of carbon chain expansion.

Melatonin Activation by Cytochrome P450 Isozymes: How Does CYP1A2 Compare to CYP1A1?

Cytochrome P450 enzymes are versatile enzymes found in most biosystems that catalyze mono-oxygenation reactions as a means of biosynthesis and biodegradation steps. In the liver, they metabolize xenobiotics, but there are a range of isozymes with differences in three-dimensional structure and protein chain. Consequently, the various P450 isozymes react with substrates differently and give varying product distributions. To understand how melatonin is activated by the P450s in the liver, we did a thorough molecular dynamics and quantum mechanics study on cytochrome P450 1A2 activation of melatonin forming 6-hydroxymelatonin and N-acetylserotonin products through aromatic hydroxylation and O-demethylation pathways, respectively. We started from crystal structure coordinates and docked substrate into the model, and obtained ten strong binding conformations with the substrate in the active site. Subsequently, for each of the ten substrate orientations, long (up to 1 μs) molecular dynamics simulations were run. We then analyzed the orientations of the substrate with respect to the heme for all snapshots. Interestingly, the shortest distance does not correspond to the group that is expected to be activated. However, the substrate positioning gives insight into the protein residues it interacts with. Thereafter, quantum chemical cluster models were created and the substrate hydroxylation pathways calculated with density functional theory. These relative barrier heights confirm the experimental product distributions and highlight why certain products are obtained. We make a detailed comparison with previous results on CYP1A1 and identify their reactivity differences with melatonin.

Photobiocatalytic Decarboxylation for the Synthesis of Fatty Epoxides from Renewable Fatty Acids

Fatty epoxides are unique building blocks in organic transformations and materials production; however, their synthetic methodologies are currently not accessible from renewable fatty acids. Herein, a photoenzymatic decarboxylation of epoxy fatty acids into fatty epoxides was demonstrated using fatty acid photodecarboxylase (FAP) from Chlorella variabilis NC64A (CvFAP). Various fatty epoxides were synthesized in excellent selectivity by wild-type CvFAP. The decarboxylation reaction was also achieved with four new FAP homologues, potentially suggesting a broad availability of the biocatalysts for this challenging decarboxylation reaction. By combining CvFAP with lipase and peroxygenase, a multienzymatic cascade to transform oleic acid and its triglyceride into the corresponding fatty epoxides was established. The obtained fatty epoxides were further converted into rather unusual fatty compounds including diol, alcohol, ether, and chain-shortened carboxylic acids. The present photobiocatalytic synthesis of fatty epoxides from natural starting materials excels by its intrinsic selectivity, mild conditions, and independence of nicotinamide cofactors.

Spectroscopic studies of the interaction between phosphorus heterocycles and cytochrome P450

P450 fatty acid decarboxylase OleT from Staphylococcus aureus (OleT_SA) is a novel cytochrome P450 enzyme that catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of fatty acids to yield primarily terminal alkenes and CO₂ or minor α- and β-hydroxylated fatty acids as side-products. In this work, the interactions between a series of cycloalkyl phosphorus heterocycles (CPHs) and OleT_SA were investigated in detail by fluorescence titration experiment, ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and ³¹P NMR spectroscopies. Fluorescence titration experiment results clearly showed that a dynamic quenching occurred when CPH-6, a representative CPHs, interacted with OleT_SA with a binding constant value of 15.2 × 10⁴ M^-1 at 293 K. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔH, ΔS and ΔG) showed that the hydrogen bond and van der Waals force played major roles in the interaction between OleT_SA and CPHs. The UV-vis and ³¹P NMR studies indicated the penetration of CPH-6 into the interior environment of OleT_SA, which greatly affects the enzymatic activity of OleT_SA. Therefore, our study revealed an effective way to use phosphorus heterocyclic compounds to modulate the activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes.

Accurate Analysis of Anisotropic Carrier Mobility and Structure-property Relationships in Organic BOXD Crystalline Materials

Charge mobility is an essential factor of organic crystalline materials. Although many investigators have made important progress, the exact relationship between the crystal structure and carrier mobility remains to be clarified. Fortunately, a series of bis-1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives have been successfully prepared and reported. They have similar main molecular fragments but different crystal packing modes, which provide an ideal research objective for studying the effect of molecular packing on charge mobility in organic photoelectric conversion systems. In this work, the charge mobilities of these molecules are systematically evaluated from the perspective of first-principles calculation, and the effect of a molecular overlap on orbital overlap integral and final charge carrier mobility is fully discussed. It can be seen that the small intermolecular distance (less than 6 Å) is the decisive factor to achieve high electron mobility in π stacking, and better mobility can be obtained by increasing the hole migration distance appropriately. A larger dihedral angle of anisotropy is an important point limiting the charge mobility in the herringbone arrangement. It is hoped that the correlation results between the crystal structure and mobility can assist the experimental study and provide an effective way to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the organic semiconductor devices and multiple basis for multiscale material system characterization and material information.

Using Small Molecules to Enhance P450 OleT Enzyme Activity in Situ

Cytochrome P450 OleT is a fatty acid decarboxylase that catalyzes the production of olefins with biofuel and synthetic applications. However, the relatively sluggish catalytic efficiency of the enzyme limits its applications. Here, we report the application of a novel class of benzene containing small molecules to improve the OleT activity. The UV-Vis spectroscopy study and molecular docking results confirmed the high proximity of the small molecules to the heme group of OleT. Up to 6-fold increase of product yield has been achieved in the small molecule-modulated enzymatic reactions. Our work thus sheds the light to the application of small molecules to increase the OleT catalytic efficiency, which could be potentially used for future olefin productions.

A Photoclick-Based High-Throughput Screening for the Directed Evolution of Decarboxylase OleT

Enzymatic oxidative decarboxylation is an up-and-coming reaction yet lacking efficient screening methods for the directed evolution of decarboxylases. Here, we describe a simple photoclick assay for the detection of decarboxylation products and its application in a proof-of-principle directed evolution study on the decarboxylase OleT. The assay was compatible with two frequently used OleT operation modes (directly using hydrogen peroxide as the enzyme's co-substrate or using a reductase partner) and the screening of saturation mutagenesis libraries identified two enzyme variants shifting the enzyme's substrate preference from long chain fatty acids toward styrene derivatives. Overall, this photoclick assay holds promise to speed-up the directed evolution of OleT and other decarboxylases.

Ru(II)-diimine complexes and cytochrome P450 working hand-in-hand

With a growing interest in utilizing visible light to drive biocatalytic processes, several light-harvesting units and approaches have been employed to harness the synthetic potential of heme monooxygenases and carry out selective oxyfunctionalization of a wide range of substrates. While the fields of cytochrome P450 and Ru(II) photochemistry have separately been prolific, it is not until the turn of the 21st century that they converged. Non-covalent and subsequently covalently attached Ru(II) complexes were used to promote rapid intramolecular electron transfer in bacterial P450 enzymes. Photocatalytic activity with Ru(II)-modified P450 enzymes was achieved under reductive conditions with a judicious choice of a sacrificial electron donor. The initial concept of Ru(II)-modified P450 enzymes was further improved using protein engineering, photosensitizer functionalization and was successfully applied to other P450 enzymes. In this review, we wish to present the recent contributions from our group and others in utilizing Ru(II) complexes coupled with P450 enzymes in the broad context of photobiocatalysis, protein assemblies and chemoenzymatic reactions. The merging of chemical catalysts with the synthetic potential of P450 enzymes has led to the development of several chemoenzymatic approaches. Moreover, strained Ru(II) compounds have been shown to selectively inhibit P450 enzymes by releasing aromatic heterocycle containing molecules upon visible light excitation taking advantage of the rapid ligand loss feature in those complexes.

Production of Propene from n-Butanol: A Three-Step Cascade Utilizing the Cytochrome P450 Fatty Acid Decarboxylase OleTJE

Propene is one of the most important starting materials in the chemical industry. Herein, we report an enzymatic cascade reaction for the biocatalytic production of propene starting from n-butanol, thus offering a biobased production from glucose. In order to create an efficient system, we faced the issue of an optimal cofactor supply for the fatty acid decarboxylase OleTJE , which is said to be driven by either NAD(P)H or H2 O2 . In the first system, we used an alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase coupled to OleTJE by the electron-transfer complex putidaredoxin reductase/putidaredoxin, allowing regeneration of the NAD+ cofactor. With the second system, we intended full oxidation of n-butanol to butyric acid, generating one equivalent of H2 O2 that can be used for the oxidative decarboxylation. As the optimal substrate is a long-chain fatty acid, we also tried to create an improved variant for the decarboxylation of butyric acid by using rational protein design. Within a mutational study with 57 designed mutants, we generated the mutant OleTV292I , which showed a 2.4-fold improvement in propene production in our H2 O2 -driven cascade system and reached total turnover numbers >1000.

Hydroxyl Transfer to Carbon Radicals by Mn(OH) vs Fe(OH) Corrole Complexes

The transfer of •OH from metal-hydroxo species to carbon radicals (R•) to give hydroxylated products (ROH) is a fundamental process in metal-mediated heme and nonheme C-H bond oxidations. This step, often referred to as the hydroxyl "rebound" step, is typically very fast, making direct study of this process challenging if not impossible. In this report, we describe the reactions of the synthetic models M(OH)(ttppc) (M = Fe (1), Mn (3); ttppc = 5,10,15-tris(2,4,6-triphenyl)phenyl corrolato^3-) with a series of triphenylmethyl carbon radical (R•) derivatives ((4-X-C₆H₄)₃C•; X = OMe, tBu, Ph, Cl, CN) to give the one-electron reduced M^III(ttppc) complexes and ROH products. Rate constants for 3 for the different radicals ranged from 11.4(1) to 58.4(2) M^-1 s^-1, as compared to those for 1, which fall between 0.74(2) and 357(4) M^-1 s^-1. Linear correlations for Hammett and Marcus plots for both Mn and Fe were observed, and the small magnitudes of the slopes for both correlations imply a concerted •OH transfer reaction for both metals. Eyring analyses of reactions for 1 and 3 with (4-X-C₆H₄)₃C• (X = tBu, CN) also give good linear correlations, and a comparison of the resulting activation parameters highlight the importance of entropy in these •OH transfer reactions. Density functional theory calculations of the reaction profiles show a concerted process with one transition state for all radicals investigated and help to explain the electronic features of the OH rebound process.

Enhanced P450 fatty acid decarboxylase catalysis by glucose oxidase coupling and co-assembly for biofuel generation

Cytochrome P450 OleT is a fatty acid decarboxylase that uses hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) to catalyze the production of terminal alkenes, which are industrially important chemicals with biofuel and synthetic applications. Despite its requirement for large turnover levels, high concentrations of H₂O₂ may cause heme group degradation, diminishing enzymatic activity and limiting broad application for synthesis. Here, we report an artificial enzyme cascade composed of glucose oxidase (GOx) and OleT_SA from Staphylococcus aureus for efficient terminal alkene production. By adjusting the ratio of GOx to OleT_SA, the GOx-based tandem catalysis shows significantly improved product yield compared to the H₂O₂ injection method. Moreover, the co-assembly of the GOx/OleT_SA enzymes with a polymer, forming polymer-dual enzymes nanoparticles, displays improved activity compared to the free enzyme. This dual strategy provides a simple and efficient system to transform a naturally abundant feedstock to industrially important chemicals.

Mechanistic Studies of Fatty Acid Activation by CYP152 Peroxygenases Reveal Unexpected Desaturase Activity

The majority of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) predominantly operate as monooxygenases, but recently a class of P450 enzymes was discovered, that can act as peroxygenases (CYP152). These enzymes convert fatty acids through oxidative decarboxylation, yielding terminal alkenes, and through α- and β-hydroxylation to yield hydroxy-fatty acids. Bioderived olefins may serve as biofuels, and hence understanding the mechanism and substrate scope of this class of enzymes is important. In this work, we report on the substrate scope and catalytic promiscuity of CYP OleT_JE and two of its orthologues from the CYP152 family, utilizing α-monosubstituted branched carboxylic acids. We identify α,β-desaturation as an unexpected dominant pathway for CYP OleT_JE with 2-methylbutyric acid. To rationalize product distributions arising from α/β-hydroxylation, oxidative decarboxylation, and desaturation depending on the substrate’s structure and binding pattern, a computational study was performed based on an active site complex of CYP OleT_JE containing the heme cofactor in the substrate binding pocket and 2-methylbutyric acid as substrate. It is shown that substrate positioning determines the accessibility of the oxidizing species (Compound I) to the substrate and hence the regio- and chemoselectivity of the reaction. Furthermore, the results show that, for 2-methylbutyric acid, α,β-desaturation is favorable because of a rate-determining α-hydrogen atom abstraction, which cannot proceed to decarboxylation. Moreover, substrate hydroxylation is energetically impeded due to the tight shape and size of the substrate binding pocket.