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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2004, p. 3222-3231, Vol. 70, No. 6
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.6.3222-3231.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Saturation Mutagenesis of Burkholderia cepacia R34 2,4-Dinitrotoluene Dioxygenase at DntAc Valine 350 for Synthesizing Nitrohydroquinone, Methylhydroquinone, and Methoxyhydroquinone

Departments of Chemical Engineering,¹ Molecular and Cell Biology,² Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269³

Received 16 December 2003/ Accepted 4 February 2004

Saturation mutagenesis of the 2,4-dinitrotoluene dioxygenase (DDO) of Burkholderia cepacia R34 at position valine 350 of the DntAc -subunit generated mutant V350F with significantly increased activity towards o-nitrophenol (47 times), m-nitrophenol (34 times), and o-methoxyphenol (174 times) as well as an expanded substrate range that now includes m-methoxyphenol, o-cresol, and m-cresol (wild-type DDO had no detectable activity for these substrates). Another mutant, V350M, also displays increased activity towards o-nitrophenol (20 times) and o-methoxyphenol (162 times) as well as novel activity towards o-cresol. Products were synthesized using whole Escherichia coli TG1 cells expressing the recombinant R34 dntA loci from pBS(Kan)R34, and the initial rates of product formation were determined at 1 mM substrate by reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. V350F produced both nitrohydroquinone at a rate of 0.75 ± 0.15 nmol/min/mg of protein and 3-nitrocatechol at a rate of 0.069 ± 0.001 nmol/min/mg of protein from o-nitrophenol, 4-nitrocatechol from m-nitrophenol at 0.29 ± 0.02 nmol/min/mg of protein, methoxyhydroquinone from o-methoxyphenol at 2.5 ± 0.6 nmol/min/mg of protein, methoxyhydroquinone from m-methoxyphenol at 0.55 ± 0.02 nmol/min/mg of protein, both methylhydroquinone at 1.52 ± 0.02 nmol/min/mg of protein and 2-hydroxybenzyl alcohol at 0.74 ± 0.05 nmol/min/mg of protein from o-cresol, and methylhydroquinone at 0.43 ± 0.1 nmol/min/mg of protein from m-cresol. V350M produced both nitrohydroquinone at a rate of 0.33 nmol/min/mg of protein and 3-nitrocatechol at 0.089 nmol/min/mg of protein from o-nitrophenol, methoxyhydroquinone from o-methoxyphenol at 2.4 nmol/min/mg of protein, methylhydroquinone at 1.97 nmol/min/mg of protein and 2-hydroxybenzyl alcohol at 0.11 nmol/min/mg of protein from o-cresol. The DDO variants V350F and V350M also exhibited 10-fold-enhanced activity towards naphthalene (8 ± 2.6 nmol/min/mg of protein), forming (1R,2S)-cis-1,2-dihydro-1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene. Hence, mutagenesis of wild-type DDO through active-site engineering generated variants with relatively high rates toward a previously uncharacterized class of substituted phenols for the nitroarene dioxygenases; seven previously uncharacterized substrates were evaluated for wild-type DDO, and four novel monooxygenase-like products were found for the DDO variants V350F and V350M (methoxyhydroquinone, methylhydroquinone, 2-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, and 3-nitrocatechol).

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