Publications

• Cloning and characterization of a gene cluster involved in cyclopentanol metabolism in Comamonas sp. strain NCIMB 9872 and biotransformations effected by Escherichia coli-expressed cyclopentanone 1,2-monooxygenase.

  Iwaki H., Hasegawa Y., Wang S., Kayser M.M., Lau P.C.K.

  Cyclopentanone 1,2-monooxygenase, a flavoprotein produced by Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIMB 9872 upon induction by cyclopentanol or cyclopentanone (M. Griffin and P. W. Trudgill, Biochem. J. 129:595-603, 1972), has been utilized as a biocatalyst in Baeyer-Villiger oxidations. To further explore this ... >> More

  Cyclopentanone 1,2-monooxygenase, a flavoprotein produced by Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIMB 9872 upon induction by cyclopentanol or cyclopentanone (M. Griffin and P. W. Trudgill, Biochem. J. 129:595-603, 1972), has been utilized as a biocatalyst in Baeyer-Villiger oxidations. To further explore this biocatalytic potential and to discover new genes, we have cloned and sequenced a 16-kb chromosomal locus of strain 9872 that is herein reclassified as belonging to the genus COMAMONAS: Sequence analysis revealed a cluster of genes and six potential open reading frames designated and grouped in at least four possible transcriptional units as (orf11-orf10-orf9)-(cpnE-cpnD-orf6-cpnC)-(cpnR-cpnB-cpnA)-(orf3-orf4 [partial 3' end]). The cpnABCDE genes encode enzymes for the five-step conversion of cyclopentanol to glutaric acid catalyzed by cyclopentanol dehydrogenase, cyclopentanone 1,2-monooxygenase, a ring-opening 5-valerolactone hydrolase, 5-hydroxyvalerate dehydrogenase, and 5-oxovalerate dehydrogenase, respectively. Inactivation of cpnB by using a lacZ-Km(r) cassette resulted in a strain that was not capable of growth on cyclopentanol or cyclopentanone as a sole carbon and energy source. The presence of sigma(54)-dependent regulatory elements in front of the divergently transcribed cpnB and cpnC genes supports the notion that cpnR is a regulatory gene of the NtrC type. Knowledge of the nucleotide sequence of the cpn genes was used to construct isopropyl-beta-thio-D-galactoside-inducible clones of Escherichia coli cells that overproduce the five enzymes of the cpn pathway. The substrate specificities of CpnA and CpnB were studied in particular to evaluate the potential of these enzymes and establish the latter recombinant strain as a bioreagent for Baeyer-Villiger oxidations. Although frequently nonenantioselective, cyclopentanone 1,2-monooxygenase was found to exhibit a broader substrate range than the related cyclohexanone 1,2-monooxygenase from Acinetobacter sp. strain NCIMB 9871. However, in a few cases opposite enantioselectivity was observed between the two biocatalysts. << Less

  Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68:5671-5684(2002) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

  This publication is cited by 1 other entry.

• Cloning of Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases from Comamonas, Xanthobacter and Rhodococcus via PCR with highly degenerate primers.

  van Beilen J.B., Mourlane F., Seeger M.A., Kovac J., Li Z., Smits T.H.M., Fritsche U., Witholt B.

  To clone novel type 1 Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase (BVMO) genes, we isolated or collected 25 bacterial strains able to grow on alicyclic compounds. Twelve of the bacterial strains yielded polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fragments with highly degenerate primers based on the sequences of known and ... >> More

  To clone novel type 1 Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase (BVMO) genes, we isolated or collected 25 bacterial strains able to grow on alicyclic compounds. Twelve of the bacterial strains yielded polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fragments with highly degenerate primers based on the sequences of known and putative BVMOs. All these fragments were found to encode peptides homologous to published BVMO sequences. The complete BVMO genes and flanking DNA were cloned from a Comamonas, a Xanthobacter and a Rhodococcus strain using the PCR fragments as probes. BVMO genes cloned from the first two strains could be expressed to high levels in Escherichia coli using standard expression vectors, and the recombinants converted cyclopentanone and cyclohexanone to the corresponding lactones. The Rhodococcus BVMO, a putative steroid monooxygenase, could be expressed after modification of the N-terminal sequence. However, recombinants expressing this protein did not show activity towards progesterone. An esterase homologue located directly upstream of the Xanthobacter BVMO gene and a dehydrogenase homologue encoded directly downstream of the Comamonas sp. NCIMB 9872 BVMO gene were also expressed in E. coli and shown to specify lactone hydrolase and cyclohexanol dehydrogenase activity respectively. << Less

  Environ. Microbiol. 5:174-182(2003) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]