Mechanism-based inhibition of an aldolase at high concentrations of its natural substrate acetaldehyde: structural insights and protective strategies

Biotransformation of 2-keto-4-hydroxybutyrate via aldol condensation using an efficient and thermostable carboligase from Deinococcus radiodurans

The bioconversion of 4-hydroxy-2-keto acid derivatives via aldol condensation of formaldehyde and pyruvate has received substantial attention as potential source of chemicals for production of amino acids, hydroxy carboxylic acids, and chiral aldehydes. We developed an environmentally friendly biocatalyst consisting of a novel thermostable class II pyruvate aldolase from Deinococcus radiodurans with maltose-binding protein (MBP-DrADL), which has specific activity of 46.3 µmol min-1 mg-1. Surprisingly, MBP-DrADL maintained over 60% of enzyme activity for 4 days at 50 to 65 °C, we used MBP-DrADL as the best candidate enzyme to produce 2-keto-4-hydroxybutyrate (2-KHB) from formaldehyde and pyruvate via aldol condensation. The optimum reaction conditions for 2-KHB production were 50 °C, pH 8.0, 5 mM Mg2+, 100 mM formaldehyde, and 200 mM pyruvate. Under these optimized conditions, MBP-DrADL produced 76.5 mM (8.94 g L-1) 2-KHB over 60 min with a volumetric productivity of 8.94 g L-1 h-1 and a specific productivity of 357.6 mg mg-enzyme-1 h-1. Furthermore, 2-KHB production was improved by continuous addition of substrates, which produced approximately 124.8 mM (14.6 g L-1) of 2-KHB over 60 min with a volumetric productivity and specific productivity of 14.6 g L-1 h-1 and 583.4 mg mg-enzyme-1 h-1, respectively. MBP-DrADL showed the highest specific productivity for 2-KHB production yet reported. Our study provides a highly efficient biocatalyst for the synthesis of 2-KHB and lays the foundation for large-scale production and application of high-value compounds from formaldehyde.

Profiling of exhaled volatile organics in the screening scenario of a COVID-19 test center

Breath volatile organics (VOCs) may provide immediate information on infection mechanisms and host response. We conducted real-time mass spectrometry-based breath profiling in 708 non-preselected consecutive subjects in the screening scenario of a COVID-19 test center. Recruited subjects were grouped based on PCR-confirmed infection status and presence or absence of flu-like symptoms. Exhaled VOC profiles of SARS-CoV-2-positive cases (n = 36) differed from healthy (n = 256) and those with other respiratory infections (n = 416). Concentrations of most VOCs were suppressed in COVID-19. VOC concentrations also differed between symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. Breath markers mirror effects of infections onto host's cellular metabolism and microbiome. Downregulation of specific VOCs was attributed to suppressive effects of SARS-CoV-2 onto gut or pulmonary microbial metabolism. Breath analysis holds potential for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infections rather than for primary diagnosis. Breath profiling offers unconventional insight into host-virus cross-talk and infection microbiology and enables non-invasive assessment of disease manifestation.

Synthetic Activity of Recombinant Whole Cell Biocatalysts Containing 2-Deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate Aldolase from Pectobacterium atrosepticum

In nature 2-deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) catalyses the reversible formation of 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate from D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and acetaldehyde. In addition, this enzyme can use acetaldehyde as the sole substrate, resulting in a tandem aldol reaction, yielding 2,4,6-trideoxy-D-erythro-hexapyranose, which spontaneously cyclizes. This reaction is very useful for the synthesis of the side chain of statin-type drugs used to decrease cholesterol levels in blood. One of the main challenges in the use of DERA in industrial processes, where high substrate loads are needed to achieve the desired productivity, is its inactivation by high acetaldehyde concentration. In this work, the utility of different variants of Pectobacterium atrosepticum DERA (PaDERA) as whole cell biocatalysts to synthesize 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate and 2,4,6-trideoxy-D-erythro-hexapyranose was analysed. Under optimized conditions, E. coli BL21 (PaDERA C-His AA C49M) whole cells yields 99 % of both products. Furthermore, this enzyme is able to tolerate 500 mM acetaldehyde in a whole-cell experiment which makes it suitable for industrial applications.

Engineering the Activity of Old Yellow Enzyme NemR-PS for Efficient Reduction of (E/Z)-Citral to (S)-Citronellol

The cascade catalysis of old yellow enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase and glucose dehydrogenase has become a promising approach for one pot, two-step reduction of (E/Z)-citral to (S)-citronellol, serving as a chiral alcohol with rose fragrance. During the multi-enzymatic cascade catalysis, old yellow enzyme is responsible for the reduction of the conjugated C=C and the introduction of the chiral center, requiring high activity and (S)-enantioselectiviy. Herein, to improve the activity of the old yellow enzyme from Providencia stuartii (NemR-PS) with strict (S)-enantioselectivity, the semi-rational design on its substrate binding pocket was performed through a combination of homology modeling, molecular docking analysis, alanine scanning and iterative saturation mutagenesis. The NemR-PS variant D275G/F351A with improved activity was obtained and then purified for characterization, obeying the substrate inhibition kinetics. Compared with the wild type, the parameters Ki and Kcat/Km were increased from 39.79 mM and 2.09 s−1mM−1 to 128.50 mM and 5.01 s−1mM−1, respectively. Moreover, the variant D275G/F351A maintained strict (S)-enantioselectivity, avoiding the trade-off effect between activity and enantioselectivity. Either the enzyme NemR-PS or the variant D275G/F351A was co-expressed with alcohol dehydrogenase from Yokenella sp. WZY002 (YsADH) and glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus megaterium (BmGDHM6). In contrast to the whole-cell biocatalyst co-expressing NemR-PS, that co-expressing the variant D275G/F351A shortened the reaction time from 36 h to 12 h in the reduction of 400 mM (E/Z)-citral. In the manner of substrate constant feeding, the accumulated product concentration reached up to 500 mM and completely eliminate the residual intermediate and by-product, suggesting the effectiveness of protein engineering and substrate engineering to improve catalytic efficiency.

Enantiocomplementary Michael Additions of Acetaldehyde to Aliphatic Nitroalkenes Catalyzed by Proline-Based Carboligases

The blockbuster drug Pregabalin is widely prescribed for the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy. Given the continuous epidemic growth of diabetes, the development of sustainable synthesis routes for Pregabalin and structurally related pharmaceutically active γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) derivatives is of high interest. Enantioenriched γ‐nitroaldehydes are versatile synthons for the production of GABA derivatives, which can be prepared through a Michael‐type addition of acetaldehyde to α,β‐unsaturated nitroalkenes. Here we report that tailored variants of the promiscuous enzyme 4‐oxalocrotonate tautomerase (4‐OT) can accept diverse aliphatic α,β‐unsaturated nitroalkenes as substrates for acetaldehyde addition. Highly enantioenriched aliphatic (R)‐ and (S)‐γ‐nitroaldehydes were obtained in good yields using two enantiocomplementary 4‐OT variants. Our results underscore the synthetic potential of 4‐OT for the preparation of structurally diverse synthons for bioactive analogues of Pregabalin.

Biocatalysis making waves in organic chemistry

Biocatalysis has an enormous impact on chemical synthesis. The waves in which biocatalysis has developed, and in doing so changed our perception of what organic chemistry is, were reviewed 20 and 10 years ago. Here we review the consequences of these waves of development. Nowadays, hydrolases are widely used on an industrial scale for the benign synthesis of commodity and bulk chemicals and are fully developed. In addition, further enzyme classes are gaining ever increasing interest. Particularly, enzymes catalysing selective C-C-bond formation reactions and enzymes catalysing selective oxidation and reduction reactions are solving long-standing synthetic challenges in organic chemistry. Combined efforts from molecular biology, systems biology, organic chemistry and chemical engineering will establish a whole new toolbox for chemistry. Recent developments are critically reviewed.

The Moderately (D)efficient Enzyme: Catalysis-Related Damage In Vivo and Its Repair

Enzymes have in vivo life spans. Analysis of life spans, i.e., lifetime totals of catalytic turnovers, suggests that nonsurvivable collateral chemical damage from the very reactions that enzymes catalyze is a common but underdiagnosed cause of enzyme death. Analysis also implies that many enzymes are moderately deficient in that their active-site regions are not naturally as hardened against such collateral damage as they could be, leaving room for improvement by rational design or directed evolution. Enzyme life span might also be improved by engineering systems that repair otherwise fatal active-site damage, of which a handful are known and more are inferred to exist. Unfortunately, the data needed to design and execute such improvements are lacking: there are too few measurements of in vivo life span, and existing information about the extent, nature, and mechanisms of active-site damage and repair during normal enzyme operation is too scarce, anecdotal, and speculative to act on. Fortunately, advances in proteomics, metabolomics, cheminformatics, comparative genomics, and structural biochemistry now empower a systematic, data-driven approach for identifying, predicting, and validating instances of active-site damage and its repair. These capabilities would be practically useful in enzyme redesign and improvement of in-use stability and could change our thinking about which enzymes die young in vivo, and why.

Unlocking Asymmetric Michael Additions in an Archetypical Class I Aldolase by Directed Evolution

Class I aldolases catalyze asymmetric aldol addition reactions and have found extensive application in the biocatalytic synthesis of chiral β-hydroxy-carbonyl compounds. However, the usefulness of these powerful enzymes for application in other C-C bond-forming reactions remains thus far unexplored. The redesign of class I aldolases to expand their catalytic repertoire to include non-native carboligation reactions therefore continues to be a major challenge. Here, we report the successful redesign of 2-deoxy-d-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) from Escherichia coli, an archetypical class I aldolase, to proficiently catalyze enantioselective Michael additions of nitromethane to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes to yield various pharmaceutically relevant chiral synthons. After 11 rounds of directed evolution, the redesigned DERA enzyme (DERA-MA) carried 12 amino-acid substitutions and had an impressive 190-fold enhancement in catalytic activity compared to the wildtype enzyme. The high catalytic efficiency of DERA-MA for this abiological reaction makes it a proficient "Michaelase" with potential for biocatalytic application. Crystallographic analysis provides a structural context for the evolved activity. Whereas an aldolase acts naturally by activating the enzyme-bound substrate as a nucleophile (enamine-based mechanism), DERA-MA instead acts by activating the enzyme-bound substrate as an electrophile (iminium-based mechanism). This work demonstrates the power of directed evolution to expand the reaction scope of natural aldolases to include asymmetric Michael addition reactions and presents opportunities to explore iminium catalysis with DERA-derived catalysts inspired by developments in the organocatalysis field.

Immobilisation and flow chemistry: tools for implementing biocatalysis

The merger of enzyme immobilisation and flow chemistry has attracted the attention of the scientific community during recent years. Immobilisation enhances enzyme stability and enables recycling, flow chemistry allows process intensification. Their combination is desirable for the development of more efficient and environmentally friendly biocatalytic processes. In this feature article, we aim to point out important metrics for successful enzyme immobilisation and for reporting flow biocatalytic processes. Relevant examples of immobilised enzymes used in flow systems in organic, biphasic and aqueous systems are discussed. Finally, we describe recent developments to address the cofactor recycling hurdle.

Current state of and need for enzyme engineering of 2-deoxy-D-ribose 5-phosphate aldolases and its impact

Abstract

Deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolases (DERAs, EC 4.1.2.4) are acetaldehyde-dependent, Class I aldolases catalyzing in nature a reversible aldol reaction between an acetaldehyde donor (C2 compound) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate acceptor (C3 compound, C3P) to generate deoxyribose-5-phosphate (C5 compound, DR5P). DERA enzymes have been found to accept also other types of aldehydes as their donor, and in particular as acceptor molecules. Consequently, DERA enzymes can be applied in C–C bond formation reactions to produce novel compounds, thus offering a versatile biocatalytic alternative for synthesis. DERA enzymes, found in all kingdoms of life, share a common TIM barrel fold despite the low overall sequence identity. The catalytic mechanism is well-studied and involves formation of a covalent enzyme-substrate intermediate. A number of protein engineering studies to optimize substrate specificity, enzyme efficiency, and stability of DERA aldolases have been published. These have employed various engineering strategies including structure-based design, directed evolution, and recently also machine learning–guided protein engineering. For application purposes, enzyme immobilization and usage of whole cell catalysis are preferred methods as they improve the overall performance of the biocatalytic processes, including often also the stability of the enzyme. Besides single-step enzymatic reactions, DERA aldolases have also been applied in multi-enzyme cascade reactions both in vitro and in vivo. The DERA-based applications range from synthesis of commodity chemicals and flavours to more complicated and high-value pharmaceutical compounds.

Key points

• DERA aldolases are versatile biocatalysts able to make new C–C bonds.

• Synthetic utility of DERAs has been improved by protein engineering approaches.

• Computational methods are expected to speed up the future DERA engineering efforts.

Graphical abstract

An Aldolase-Based New Pathway for Bioconversion of Formaldehyde and Ethanol into 1,3-Propanediol in Escherichia coli

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is a reactive one-carbon compound that is interesting for biosynthesis. The assimilation of HCHO depends on the catalysis of aldolase. Here, we present a novel synthetic pathway in E. coli to convert HCHO and ethanol into 1,3-propanediol (PDO) using a deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA). DERA condenses HCHO and acetaldehyde to form 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde, the direct precursor of PDO formation. This new pathway opens up the possibility to synthesize an appealing C3 compound from a C1 compound and a C2 compound without carbon loss in contrast to all the other known PDO synthetic pathways where typically 30-50% of the carbons are lost as CO₂ and other byproducts. The pathway is successfully demonstrated by elaborating three metabolic modules. First, DERA from Thermotoga maritima was found to be efficient for the aldol condensation and PDO production module. For the module of acetaldehyde supply from ethanol, an alcohol dehydrogenase from Hansenula polymorpha was selected. For the HCHO supply module, the control of HCHO concentration and its utilization were shown to be important for achieving the assimilation of HCHO in recombinant E. coli cells. By deleting the gene frmA for endogenous conversion of HCHO to formate and controlling HCHO at a level of about 0.6 mM, the concentration and yield of PDO were increased from initially 5.67 mM (0.43 g/L) and 0.057 mol/mol to 17.35 mM (1.32 g/L) and 0.096 mol/mol in bioconversion of ethanol and HCHO with resting E. coli cells. Further engineering of DERA and the HCHO supply module is necessary to realize the potential of this promising metabolic pathway.

The number of catalytic cycles in an enzyme's lifetime and why it matters to metabolic engineering

The continuous replacement of enzymes and other proteins appropriates up to half the maintenance energy budget in microorganisms and plants. High enzyme replacement rates therefore cut the productivity of biosystems ranging from microbial fermentations to crops. However, yardsticks to assess what drives enzyme protein replacement and guidelines on how to reduce it are lacking. Accordingly, we compared enzymes’ life spans across kingdoms using a new yardstick (catalytic cycles until replacement [CCR]) and related CCR to enzyme reaction chemistry. We concluded that 1) many enzymes fail due to collateral damage from the reaction they catalyze, and 2) such damage and its attendant enzyme replacement costs are mitigable by engineering and are therefore promising targets for synthetic biology.

Metabolic engineering uses enzymes as parts to build biosystems for specified tasks. Although a part’s working life and failure modes are key engineering performance indicators, this is not yet so in metabolic engineering because it is not known how long enzymes remain functional in vivo or whether cumulative deterioration (wear-out), sudden random failure, or other causes drive replacement. Consequently, enzymes cannot be engineered to extend life and cut the high energy costs of replacement. Guided by catalyst engineering, we adopted catalytic cycles until replacement (CCR) as a metric for enzyme functional life span in vivo. CCR is the number of catalytic cycles that an enzyme mediates in vivo before failure or replacement, i.e., metabolic flux rate/protein turnover rate. We used estimated fluxes and measured protein turnover rates to calculate CCRs for ∼100–200 enzymes each from Lactococcus lactis, yeast, and Arabidopsis. CCRs in these organisms had similar ranges (<10³ to >10⁷) but different median values (3–4 × 10⁴ in L. lactis and yeast versus 4 × 10⁵ in Arabidopsis). In all organisms, enzymes whose substrates, products, or mechanisms can attack reactive amino acid residues had significantly lower median CCR values than other enzymes. Taken with literature on mechanism-based inactivation, the latter finding supports the proposal that 1) random active-site damage by reaction chemistry is an important cause of enzyme failure, and 2) reactive noncatalytic residues in the active-site region are likely contributors to damage susceptibility. Enzyme engineering to raise CCRs and lower replacement costs may thus be both beneficial and feasible.

Efficient whole-cell oxidation of α,β-unsaturated alcohols to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes through the cascade biocatalysis of alcohol dehydrogenase, NADPH oxidase and hemoglobin

Background

α,β-Unsaturated aldehydes are widely used in the organic synthesis of fine chemicals for application in products such as flavoring agents, fragrances and pharmaceuticals. In the selective oxidation of α,β-unsaturated alcohols to the corresponding α,β-unsaturated aldehydes, it remains challenging to overcome poor selectivity, overoxidation and a low atom efficiency in chemical routes.

Results

An E. coli strain coexpressing the NADP⁺-specific alcohol dehydrogenase YsADH and the oxygen-dependent NADPH oxidase TkNOX was constructed; these components enabled the NADP⁺ regeneration and catalyzed the oxidation of 100 mM 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol to 3-methyl-2-butenal with a yield of 21.3%. The oxygen supply was strengthened by introducing the hemoglobin protein VsHGB into recombinant E. coli cells and replacing the atmosphere of the reactor with pure oxygen, which increased the yield to 51.3%. To further improve catalytic performance, the E. coli cells expressing the multifunctional fusion enzyme YsADH-(GSG)-TkNOX-(GSG)-VsHGB were generated, which completely converted 250 mM 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol to 3-methyl-2-butenal after 8 h of whole-cell oxidation. The reaction conditions for the cascade biocatalysis were optimized, in which supplementation with 0.2 mM FAD and 0.4 mM NADP⁺ was essential for maintaining high catalytic activity. Finally, the established whole-cell system could serve as a platform for the synthesis of valuable α,β-unsaturated aldehydes through the selective oxidation of various α,β-unsaturated alcohols.

Conclusions

The construction of a strain expressing the fusion enzyme YsADH-(GSG)-TkNOX-(GSG)-VsHGB achieved efficient NADP⁺ regeneration and the selective oxidation of various α,β-unsaturated alcohols to the corresponding α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. Among the available redox enzymes, the fusion enzyme YsADH-(GSG)-TkNOX-(GSG)-VsHGB has become the most recent successful example to improve catalytic performance in comparison with its separate components.

Catalytic activity of a CuGHK peptide-based porous material

The CuGHK peptide-based porous material acts as a heterogeneous organocatalyst in the Henry reaction due to a periodic distribution of pockets decorated with lysine side chain active sites.

Substrate specificity of 2-deoxy-D-ribose 5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) assessed by different protein engineering and machine learning methods

In this work, deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase (Ec DERA, EC 4.1.2.4) from Escherichia coli was chosen as the protein engineering target for improving the substrate preference towards smaller, non-phosphorylated aldehyde donor substrates, in particular towards acetaldehyde. The initial broad set of mutations was directed to 24 amino acid positions in the active site or in the close vicinity, based on the 3D complex structure of the E. coli DERA wild-type aldolase. The specific activity of the DERA variants containing one to three amino acid mutations was characterised using three different substrates. A novel machine learning (ML) model utilising Gaussian processes and feature learning was applied for the 3rd mutagenesis round to predict new beneficial mutant combinations. This led to the most clear-cut (two- to threefold) improvement in acetaldehyde (C2) addition capability with the concomitant abolishment of the activity towards the natural donor molecule glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (C3P) as well as the non-phosphorylated equivalent (C3). The Ec DERA variants were also tested on aldol reaction utilising formaldehyde (C1) as the donor. Ec DERA wild-type was shown to be able to carry out this reaction, and furthermore, some of the improved variants on acetaldehyde addition reaction turned out to have also improved activity on formaldehyde. KEY POINTS: • DERA aldolases are promiscuous enzymes. • Synthetic utility of DERA aldolase was improved by protein engineering approaches. • Machine learning methods aid the protein engineering of DERA.

Efficient Oxidation of Methyl Glycolate to Methyl Glyoxylate Using a Fusion Enzyme of Glycolate Oxidase, Catalase and Hemoglobin

Possessing aldehyde and carboxyl groups, glyoxylic acid and its ester derivatives serve as platform chemicals for the synthesis of vanillin, (R)-pantolactone, antibiotics or agrochemicals. Methyl glycolate is one of the by-products in the coal-to-glycol industry, and we attempted its value-added use through enzymatic oxidation of methyl glycolate to methyl glyoxylate. The cascade catalysis of glycolate oxidase from Spinacia oleracea (SoGOX), catalase from Helicobacter pylori (HpCAT) and hemoglobin from Vitreoscilla stercoraria (VsHGB) was firstly constructed, despite poor catalytic performance. To enable efficient oxidation of methyl glycolate, eight fusion enzymes of SoGOX, HpCAT and VsHGB were constructed by varying the orientation and the linker length. The fusion enzyme VsHGB-GSG-SoGOX-GGGGS-HpCAT was proved to be best, which reaction yield was 2.9 times higher than that of separated enzymes. The enzyme SoGOX was further subjected to directed evolution and site-saturation mutagenesis. The reaction yield of the resulting variant M267T/S362G was 1.9 times higher than that of the wild type. Then, the double substitution M267T/S362G was integrated with fusion expression to give the fusion enzyme VsHGB-GSG-SoGOXmut-GGGGS-HpCAT, which crude enzyme was used as biocatalyst. The use of crude enzyme virtually eliminated side reactions and simplified the preparation of biocatalysts. Under the optimized conditions, the crude enzyme VsHGB-GSG-SoGOXmut-GGGGS-HpCAT catalyzed the oxidation of 200 mM methyl glycolate for 6 h, giving a yield of 95.3%. The development of efficient fusion enzyme and the use of its crude enzyme paved the way for preparative scale application on enzymatic oxidation of methyl glycolate to methyl glyoxylate.

Discovery and Engineering of an Aldehyde Tolerant 2-deoxy-D-ribose 5-phosphate Aldolase (DERA) from Pectobacterium atrosepticum

DERA (2-Deoxy-D-ribose 5-phosphate aldolase) is the only known aldolase that accepts two aldehyde substrates, which makes it an attractive catalyst for the synthesis of a chiral polyol motif that is present in several pharmaceuticals, such as atorvastatin and pravastatin. However, inactivation of the enzyme in the presence of aldehydes hinders its practical application. Whole cells of Pectobacterium atrosepticum were reported to exhibit good tolerance toward acetaldehyde and to afford 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate with good yields. The DERA gene (PaDERA) was identified, and both the wild-type and a C49M mutant were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The purification protocol was optimized and an initial biochemical characterization was conducted. Unlike other DERAs, which show a maximal activity between pH 4.0 and 7.5, PaDERA presented an optimum pH in the alkaline range between 8.0 and 9.0. This could warrant its use for specific syntheses in the future. PaDERA also displayed fourfold higher specific activity than DERA from E. coli (EcDERA) and displayed a promising acetaldehyde resistance outside the whole-cell environment. The C49M mutation, which was previously identified to increase acetaldehyde tolerance in EcDERA, also led to significant improvements in the acetaldehyde tolerance of PaDERA.

DERA in Flow: Synthesis of a Statin Side Chain Precursor in Continuous Flow Employing Deoxyribose-5-Phosphate Aldolase Immobilized in Alginate-Luffa Matrix

Statins, cholesterol-lowering drugs used for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD), are among the top 10 prescribed drugs worldwide. However, the synthesis of their characteristic side chain containing two chiral hydroxyl groups can be challenging. The application of deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) is currently one of the most promising routes for the synthesis of this side chain. Herein, we describe the development of a continuous flow process for the biosynthesis of a side chain precursor. Design of experiments (DoE) was used to optimize the reaction conditions (pH value and temperature) in batch. A pH of 7.5 and a temperature of 32.5 °C were identified to be the optimal process settings within the reaction space considered. Additionally, an immobilization method was developed using the alginate-luffa matrix (ALM), which is a fast, simple, and inexpensive method for enzyme immobilization. Furthermore, it is non-toxic, biodegradable, and from renewable resources. The final continuous process was operated stable for 4 h and can produce up to 4.5 g of product per day.

Rational engineering of 2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolases for the biosynthesis of (R)-1,3-butanediol

Carbon-carbon bond formation is one of the most important reactions in biocatalysis and organic chemistry. In nature, aldolases catalyze the reversible stereoselective aldol addition between two carbonyl compounds, making them attractive catalysts for the synthesis of various chemicals. In this work, we identified several 2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolases (DERAs) having acetaldehyde condensation activity, which can be used for the biosynthesis of (R)-1,3-butanediol (1,3BDO) in combination with aldo-keto reductases (AKRs). Enzymatic screening of 20 purified DERAs revealed the presence of significant acetaldehyde condensation activity in 12 of the enzymes, with the highest activities in BH1352 from Bacillus halodurans, TM1559 from Thermotoga maritima, and DeoC from Escherichia coli The crystal structures of BH1352 and TM1559 at 1.40-2.50 Å resolution are the first full-length DERA structures revealing the presence of the C-terminal Tyr (Tyr²²⁴ in BH1352). The results from structure-based site-directed mutagenesis of BH1352 indicated a key role for the catalytic Lys¹⁵⁵ and other active-site residues in the 2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate cleavage and acetaldehyde condensation reactions. These experiments also revealed a 2.5-fold increase in acetaldehyde transformation to 1,3BDO (in combination with AKR) in the BH1352 F160Y and F160Y/M173I variants. The replacement of the WT BH1352 by the F160Y or F160Y/M173I variants in E. coli cells expressing the DERA + AKR pathway increased the production of 1,3BDO from glucose five and six times, respectively. Thus, our work provides detailed insights into the molecular mechanisms of substrate selectivity and activity of DERAs and identifies two DERA variants with enhanced activity for in vitro and in vivo 1,3BDO biosynthesis.

Design of an in vitro biocatalytic cascade for the manufacture of islatravir

Enzyme-catalyzed reactions have begun to transform pharmaceutical manufacturing, offering levels of selectivity and tunability that can dramatically improve chemical synthesis. Combining enzymatic reactions into multistep biocatalytic cascades brings additional benefits. Cascades avoid the waste generated by purification of intermediates. They also allow reactions to be linked together to overcome an unfavorable equilibrium or avoid the accumulation of unstable or inhibitory intermediates. We report an in vitro biocatalytic cascade synthesis of the investigational HIV treatment islatravir. Five enzymes were engineered through directed evolution to act on non-natural substrates. These were combined with four auxiliary enzymes to construct islatravir from simple building blocks in a three-step biocatalytic cascade. The overall synthesis requires fewer than half the number of steps of the previously reported routes.

A Biocatalytically Active Membrane Obtained from Immobilization of 2-Deoxy-d-ribose-5-phosphate Aldolase on a Porous Support

Aldol reactions play an important role in organic synthesis, as they belong to the class of highly beneficial C-C-linking reactions. Aldol-type reactions can be efficiently and stereoselectively catalyzed by the enzyme 2-deoxy-d-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) to gain key intermediates for pharmaceuticals such as atorvastatin. The immobilization of DERA would open the opportunity for a continuous operation mode which gives access to an efficient, large-scale production of respective organic intermediates. In this contribution, we synthesize and utilize DERA/polymer conjugates for the generation and fixation of a DERA bearing thin film on a polymeric membrane support. The conjugation strongly increases the tolerance of the enzyme toward the industrial relevant substrate acetaldehyde while UV-cross-linkable groups along the conjugated polymer chains provide the opportunity for covalent binding to the support. First, we provide a thorough characterization of the conjugates followed by immobilization tests on representative, nonporous cycloolefinic copolymer supports. Finally, immobilization on the target supports constituted of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membranes is performed, and the resulting enzymatically active membranes are implemented in a simple membrane module setup for the first assessment of biocatalytic performance in the continuous operation mode using the combination hexanal/acetaldehyde as the substrate.

Biocatalytically active microgels by precipitation polymerization of N-isopropyl acrylamide in the presence of an enzyme

We present a novel protocol for the synthesis of enzymatically active microgels. The protocol is based on the precipitation polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) in the presence of an enzyme and a protein binding comonomer. A basic investigation on the influence of different reaction parameters such as monomer concentration and reaction temperature on the microgel size and size distribution is performed and immobilization yields are determined. Microgels exhibiting hydrodynamic diameters between 100 nm and 1 μm and narrow size distribution could be synthesized while about 31-44% of the enzyme present in the initial reaction mixture can be immobilized. Successful immobilization including a verification of enzymatic activity of the microgels is achieved for glucose oxidase (GOx) and 2-deoxy-d-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA). The thermoresponsive properties of the microgels are assessed and discussed in the light of activity evolution with temperature. The positive correlation of enzymatic activity with temperature for the GOx containing microgel originates from a direct interaction of the enzyme with the PNIPAm based polymer matrix whose magnitude is highly influenced by temperature.

Chemoenzymatic Platform for Synthesis of Chiral Organofluorines Based on Type II Aldolases

Aldolases are C-C bond forming enzymes that have become prominent tools for sustainable synthesis of complex synthons. However, enzymatic methods of fluorine incorporation into such compounds are lacking due to the rarity of fluorine in nature. Recently, the use of fluoropyruvate as a non-native aldolase substrate has arisen as a solution. Here, we report that the type II HpcH aldolases efficiently catalyze fluoropyruvate addition to diverse aldehydes, with exclusive (3S)-selectivity at fluorine that is rationalized by DFT calculations on a mechanistic model. We also measure the kinetic parameters of aldol addition and demonstrate engineering of the hydroxyl group stereoselectivity. Our aldolase collection is then employed in the chemoenzymatic synthesis of novel fluoroacids and ester derivatives in high stereopurity (d.r. 80-98 %). The compounds made available by this method serve as precursors to fluorinated analogs of sugars, amino acids, and other valuable chiral building blocks.

2-Deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA): applications and modifications

2-Deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) is a class I aldolase that offers access to several building blocks for organic synthesis. It catalyzes the stereoselective C-C bond formation between acetaldehyde and numerous other aldehydes. However, the practical application of DERA as a biocatalyst is limited by its poor tolerance towards industrially relevant concentrations of aldehydes, in particular acetaldehyde. Therefore, the development of proper experimental conditions, including protein engineering and/or immobilization on appropriate supports, is required. The present review is aimed to provide a brief overview of DERA, its history, and progress made in understanding the functioning of the enzyme. Furthermore, the current understanding regarding aldehyde resistance of DERA and the various optimizations carried out to modify this property are discussed.

Conformational Sampling of the Intrinsically Disordered C-Terminal Tail of DERA Is Important for Enzyme Catalysis

2-Deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) catalyzes the reversible conversion of acetaldehyde and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate into deoxyribose-5-phosphate. DERA is used as a biocatalyst for the synthesis of drugs such as statins and is a promising pharmaceutical target due to its involvement in nucleotide catabolism. Despite previous biochemical studies suggesting the catalytic importance of the C-terminal tyrosine residue found in several bacterial DERAs, the structural and functional basis of its participation in catalysis remains elusive because the electron density for the last eight to nine residues (i.e., the C-terminal tail) is absent in all available crystal structures. Using a combination of NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations, we conclusively show that the rarely studied C-terminal tail of E. coli DERA (ecDERA) is intrinsically disordered and exists in equilibrium between open and catalytically relevant closed states, where the C-terminal tyrosine (Y259) enters the active site. Nuclear Overhauser effect distance restraints, obtained due to the presence of a substantial closed state population, were used to derive the solution-state structure of the ecDERA closed state. Real-time NMR hydrogen/deuterium exchange experiments reveal that Y259 is required for efficiency of the proton abstraction step of the catalytic reaction. Phosphate titration experiments show that, in addition to the phosphate-binding residues located near the active site, as observed in the available crystal structures, ecDERA contains previously unknown auxiliary phosphate-binding residues on the C-terminal tail which could facilitate in orienting Y259 in an optimal position for catalysis. Thus, we present significant insights into the structural and mechanistic importance of the ecDERA C-terminal tail and illustrate the role of conformational sampling in enzyme catalysis.

Biocatalytically Active Thin Films via Self-Assembly of 2-Deoxy-d-ribose-5-phosphate Aldolase-Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) Conjugates

2-Deoxy-d-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) is a biocatalyst that is capable of converting acetaldehyde and a second aldehyde as acceptor into enantiomerically pure mono- and diyhydroxyaldehydes, which are important structural motifs in a number of pharmaceutically active compounds. However, substrate as well as product inhibition requires a more-sophisticated process design for the synthesis of these motifs. One way to do so is to the couple aldehyde conversion with transport processes, which, in turn, would require an immobilization of the enzyme within a thin film that can be deposited on a membrane support. Consequently, we developed a fabrication process for such films that is based on the formation of DERA-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) conjugates that are subsequently allowed to self-assemble at an air-water interface to yield the respective film. In this contribution, we discuss the conjugation conditions, investigate the interfacial properties of the conjugates, and, finally, demonstrate a successful film formation under the preservation of enzymatic activity.

1H, 13C, and 15N backbone and sidechain resonance assignments of a monomeric variant of E. coli deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase

Deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) catalyses the reversible conversion of 2-deoxyribose-5-phosphate (dR5P) into glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) and acetaldehyde. For industrial applications, this enzyme is used in organic synthesis for aldol reactions between acetaldehyde as a donor and a wide range of aldehydes as acceptors. Here, we present a near complete set of sequence-specific ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁵N resonance assignments of a 28 kDa monomeric variant of the Escherichia coli DERA. These assignments provide the basis for ongoing structural and dynamic analysis of DERA substrate specificity.

Identification of Mechanism-Based Inactivation in P450-Catalyzed Cyclopropanation Facilitates Engineering of Improved Enzymes

Following the recent discovery that heme proteins can catalyze the cyclopropanation of styrenyl olefins with high efficiency and selectivity, interest in developing new enzymes for a variety of non-natural carbene transfer reactions has burgeoned. The fact that diazo compounds and other carbene precursors are known mechanism-based inhibitors of P450s, however, led us to investigate if they also interfere with this new enzyme function. We present evidence for two inactivation pathways that are operative during cytochrome P450-catalyzed cyclopropanation. Using a combination of UV-vis, mass spectrometry, and proteomic analyses, we show that the heme cofactor and several nucleophilic side chains undergo covalent modification by ethyl diazoacetate (EDA). Substitution of two of the affected residues with less-nucleophilic amino acids led to a more than twofold improvement in cyclopropanation performance (total TTN). Elucidating the inactivation pathways of heme protein-based carbene transfer catalysts should aid in the optimization of this new biocatalytic function.

Redesigning Aldolase Stereoselectivity by Homologous Grafting

The 2-deoxy-d-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) offers access to highly desirable building blocks for organic synthesis by catalyzing a stereoselective C-C bond formation between acetaldehyde and certain electrophilic aldehydes. DERA´s potential is particularly highlighted by the ability to catalyze sequential, highly enantioselective aldol reactions. However, its synthetic use is limited by the absence of an enantiocomplementary enzyme. Here, we introduce the concept of homologous grafting to identify stereoselectivity-determining amino acid positions in DERA. We identified such positions by structural analysis of the homologous aldolases 2-keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate aldolase (KDPG) and the enantiocomplementary enzyme 2-keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogalactonate aldolase (KDPGal). Mutation of these positions led to a slightly inversed enantiopreference of both aldolases to the same extent. By transferring these sequence motifs onto DERA we achieved the intended change in enantioselectivity.