Directed Evolution of P450 Fatty Acid Decarboxylases via High‐Throughput Screening towards Improved Catalytic Activity

Use of Whole Cells and Cell-Free Extracts of Catalase-Deficient E. coli for Peroxygenase-Catalyzed Reactions

Unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs) with peroxygenase activity are becoming the preferred biocatalysts for oxyfunctionalization reactions. While whole cells (WCs) or cell-free extracts (CFEs) of Escherichia coli are often preferred for cofactor-dependent monooxygenase reactions, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) driven peroxygenase reactions are generally performed with purified enzymes, because the catalases produced by E. coli are expected to quickly degrade H2O2. We used the CRISPR/Cas system to delete the catalase encoding chromosomal genes, katG, and katE, from E. coli BL21-Gold(DE3) to obtain a catalase-deficient strain. A short UPO, DcaUPO, and two CYP peroxygenases, SscaCYP_E284A and CYP102A1_21B3, were used to compare the strains for peroxygenase expression and subsequent sulfoxidation, epoxidation, and benzylic hydroxylation activity. While 10 mM H2O2 was depleted within 10 min after addition to WCs and CFEs of the wild-type strain, at least 60% remained after 24 h in WCs and CFEs of the catalase-deficient strain. CYP peroxygenase reactions, with generally lower turnover frequencies, benefited the most from the use of the catalase-deficient strain. Comparison of purified peroxygenases in buffer versus CFEs of the catalase-deficient strain revealed that the peroxygenases in CFEs generally performed as well as the purified proteins. We also used WCs from catalase-deficient E. coli to screen three CYP peroxygenases, wild-type SscaCYP, SscaCYP_E284A, and SscaCYP_E284I for activity against 10 substrates comparing H2O2 consumption with substrate consumption and product formation. Finally, the enzyme-substrate pair with highest activity, SscaCYP_E284I, and trans-β-methylstyrene, were used in a preparative scale reaction with catalase-deficient WCs. Use of WCs or CFEs from catalase-deficient E. coli instead of purified enzymes can greatly benefit the high-throughput screening of enzyme or substrate libraries for peroxygenase activity, while they can also be used for preparative scale reactions.

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.

Comparative biochemical characterization of mammalian-derived CYP11A1s with cholesterol side-chain cleavage activities

Steroid drugs, the second largest class of pharmaceuticals after antibiotics, have shown significant anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, and endocrine-regulating effects. A group of cytochrome P450 enzymes, namely, CYP11A1 isoenzymes from different organisms are capable of converting cholesterol into pregnenolone, which is a pivotal reaction in both steroid metabolism and (bio)synthetic network of steroid products. However, the low activity of CYP11A1s greatly restricts the industrial application of these cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzymes. Herein, we investigate ten CYP11A1 enzymes of different origins and in vitro characterize two CYP11A1s with a relatively higher expression level from Capra hircus and Sus scrofa, together with the CYP11A1s from Homo sapiens and Bos taurus as references. Towards five selected sterol substrates with different side chain structures, S. scrofa CYP11A1 displays relatively higher activities. Through redox partners combination screening, we reveal the optimal redox partner pair of S. scrofa adrenodoxin and C. hircus adrenodoxin reductase. Moreover, the semi-rational mutagenesis for the active sites and substrate entrance channels of human and bovine CYP11A1s is performed based on comparative analysis of their crystal structures. The mutant mBtCYP11A1-Q377A derived from mature B. taurus CYP11A1 shows a 1.46 times higher activity than the wild type enzyme. These results not only demonstrate the tunability of the highly conserved CYP11A1 isoenzymes, but also lay a foundation for the following engineering efforts on these industrially relevant P450 enzymes.

Unnatural activities and mechanistic insights of cytochrome P450 PikC gained from site-specific mutagenesis by non-canonical amino acids

Cytochrome P450 enzymes play important roles in the biosynthesis of macrolide antibiotics by mediating a vast variety of regio- and stereoselective oxidative modifications, thus improving their chemical diversity, biological activities, and pharmaceutical properties. Tremendous efforts have been made on engineering the reactivity and selectivity of these useful biocatalysts. However, the 20 proteinogenic amino acids cannot always satisfy the requirement of site-directed/random mutagenesis and rational protein design of P450 enzymes. To address this issue, herein, we practice the semi-rational non-canonical amino acid mutagenesis for the pikromycin biosynthetic P450 enzyme PikC, which recognizes its native macrolide substrates with a 12- or 14-membered ring macrolactone linked to a deoxyamino sugar through a unique sugar-anchoring mechanism. Based on a semi-rationally designed substrate binding strategy, non-canonical amino acid mutagenesis at the His238 position enables the unnatural activities of several PikC mutants towards the macrolactone precursors without any sugar appendix. With the aglycone hydroxylating activities, the pikromycin biosynthetic pathway is rewired by the representative mutant PikC_H238pAcF carrying a p-acetylphenylalanine residue at the His238 position and a promiscuous glycosyltransferase. Moreover, structural analysis of substrate-free and three different enzyme-substrate complexes of PikC_H238pAcF provides significant mechanistic insights into the substrate binding and catalytic selectivity of this paradigm biosynthetic P450 enzyme.

A Dual Fluorescence Assay Enables High-Throughput Screening for Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Hydrolases

The drastically increasing consumption of petroleum-derived plastics hasserious environmental impacts and raises public concerns. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is amongst the most extensively produced synthetic polymers. Enzymatic hydrolysis of PET recently emerged as an enticing path for plastic degradation and recycling. In-lab directed evolution has revealed the great potential of PET hydrolases (PETases). However, the time-consuming and laborious PETase assays hinder the identification of effective variants in large mutant libraries. Herein, we devise and validate a dual fluorescence-based high-throughput screening (HTS) assay for a representative IsPETase. The two-round HTS of a pilot library consisting of 2850 IsPETase variants yields six mutant IsPETases with 1.3-4.9 folds improved activities. Compared to the currently used structure- or computational redesign-based PETase engineering, this HTS approach provides a new strategy for discovery of new beneficial mutation patterns of PETases.

Efficient heterologous expression of cytochrome P450 enzymes in microorganisms for the biosynthesis of natural products

Natural products, a chemically and structurally diverse class of molecules, possess a wide spectrum of biological activities, have been used therapeutically for millennia, and have provided many lead compounds for the development of synthetic drugs. Cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450s, CYP) are widespread in nature and are involved in the biosynthesis of many natural products. P450s are heme-containing enzymes that use molecular oxygen and the hydride donor NAD(P)H (coupled via enzymic redox partners) to catalyze the insertion of oxygen into C-H bonds in a regio- and stereo-selective manner, effecting hydroxylation and several other reactions. With the rapid development of systems biology, numerous novel P450s have been identified for the biosynthesis of natural products, but there are still several challenges to the efficient heterologous expression of active P450s. This review covers recent developments in P450 research and development, including the properties and functions of P450s, discovery and mining of novel P450s, modification and screening of P450 mutants, improved heterologous expression of P450s in microbial hosts, efficient whole-cell transformation with P450s, and current applications of P450s for the biosynthesis of natural products. This resource provides a solid foundation for the application of highly active and stable P450s in microbial cell factories to biosynthesize natural products.

Whole-Cell P450 Biocatalysis Using Engineered Escherichia coli with Fine-Tuned Heme Biosynthesis

By exploiting versatile P450 enzymes, whole-cell biocatalysis can be performed to synthesize valuable compounds in Escherichia coli. However, the insufficient supply of heme limits the whole-cell P450 biocatalytic activity. Here a strategy for improving intracellular heme biosynthesis to enhance the catalytic efficiencies of P450s is reported. After comparing the effects of improving heme transport and biosynthesis on P450 activities, intracellular heme biosynthesis is optimized through the integrated expression of necessary synthetic genes at proper ratios and the assembly of rate-limiting enzymes using DNA-guided scaffolds. The intracellular heme level is fine-tuned by the combined use of mutated heme-sensitive biosensors and small regulatory RNA systems. The catalytic efficiencies of three different P450s, BM3, sca-2, and CYP105D7, are enhanced through fine-tuning heme biosynthesis for the synthesis of hydroquinone, pravastatin, and 7,3',4'-trihydroxyisoflavone as example products of chemical intermediate, drug, and natural product, respectively. This strategy of fine-tuned heme biosynthesis will be generally useful for developing whole-cell biocatalysts involving hemoproteins.

Colorimetric high-throughput screening method for directed evolution of prazole sulfide monooxygenase

Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) are important biocatalysts for the enzymatic synthesis of chiral sulfoxides, including chiral sulfoxide-type drugs proton pump inhibitors for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. However, native BVMOs are not yet suitable for practical application due to their unsatisfactory activity and thermostability. Although protein engineering approaches can help address these issues, few feasible high-throughput methods are available for the engineering of such enzymes. Herein, a colorimetric detection method to distinguish sulfoxides from sulfides and sulfones was developed for prazole sulfide monooxygenases . Directed evolution enabled by this method has identified a prazole sulfide monooxygenase CbBVMO variant with improved activity and thermostability in catalyzing the asymmetric oxidation of lansoprazole sulfide. A 71.3% increase in conversion and 6°C enhancement in the melting point were achieved compared with the wild-type enzyme. This new method is feasible for high-throughput screening of prazole sulfide monooxygenases variants with improved activity, thermostability, and/or substrate specificity.

Enzymes, In Vivo Biocatalysis, and Metabolic Engineering for Enabling a Circular Economy and Sustainability

Since the industrial revolution, the rapid growth and development of global industries have depended largely upon the utilization of coal-derived chemicals, and more recently, the utilization of petroleum-based chemicals. These developments have followed a linear economy model (produce, consume, and dispose). As the world is facing a serious threat from the climate change crisis, a more sustainable solution for manufacturing, i.e., circular economy in which waste from the same or different industries can be used as feedstocks or resources for production offers an attractive industrial/business model. In nature, biological systems, i.e., microorganisms routinely use their enzymes and metabolic pathways to convert organic and inorganic wastes to synthesize biochemicals and energy required for their growth. Therefore, an understanding of how selected enzymes convert biobased feedstocks into special (bio)chemicals serves as an important basis from which to build on for applications in biocatalysis, metabolic engineering, and synthetic biology to enable biobased processes that are greener and cleaner for the environment. This review article highlights the current state of knowledge regarding the enzymatic reactions used in converting biobased wastes (lignocellulosic biomass, sugar, phenolic acid, triglyceride, fatty acid, and glycerol) and greenhouse gases (CO₂ and CH₄) into value-added products and discusses the current progress made in their metabolic engineering. The commercial aspects and life cycle assessment of products from enzymatic and metabolic engineering are also discussed. Continued development in the field of metabolic engineering would offer diversified solutions which are sustainable and renewable for manufacturing valuable chemicals.

Development of MEMS directed evolution strategy for multiplied throughput and convergent evolution of cytochrome P450 enzymes

Directed evolution (DE) inspired by natural evolution (NE) has been achieving tremendous successes in protein/enzyme engineering. However, the conventional "one-protein-for-one-task" DE cannot match the "multi-proteins-for-multi-tasks" NE in terms of screening throughput and efficiency, thus often failing to meet the fast-growing demands for biocatalysts with desired properties. In this study, we design a novel "multi-enzymes-for-multi-substrates" (MEMS) DE model and establish the proof-of-concept by running a NE-mimicking and higher-throughput screening on the basis of "two-P450s-against-seven-substrates" (2P×7S) in one pot. With the multiplied throughput and improved hit rate, we witness a series of convergent evolution events of the two archetypal cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450 BM3 and P450cam) in laboratory. It is anticipated that the new strategy of MEMS DE will find broader application for a larger repertoire of enzymes in the future. Furthermore, structural and substrate docking analysis of the two functionally convergent P450 variants provide important insights into how distinct P450 active-sites can reach a common catalytic goal.

Directed evolution for enzyme development in biocatalysis

As an important sector of the chemical industry, biocatalysis requires the continuous development of enzymes with tailor-made activity, selectivity, stability, or tolerance to unnatural environments. This is now routinely achieved by directed evolution based on iterative cycles of genetic diversification and activity screening. Here, we highlight its recent developments. First, the design of "smarter" libraries by focused mutagenesis may be a crucial start-up for a fast and successful outcome. Then library assembly and expression are also key steps that benefits from modern molecular biology progresses. Finally, various strategies may be considered for library screening depending on the final objective: while low-throughput direct assays have been very successful in generating enzymes for important biocatalytic processes, even in bringing completely new chemistries to the enzyme world, ultrahigh-throughput screening methods are emerging as powerful approaches for engineering the next generation of industrial enzymes.

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.

Winning the numbers game in enzyme evolution - fast screening methods for improved biotechnology proteins

The booming demand for environmentally benign industrial processes relies on the ability to quickly find or engineer a biocatalyst suitable to ideal process conditions. Both metagenomic approaches and directed evolution involve the screening of huge libraries of protein variants, which can only be managed reasonably by flexible platforms for (ultra)high-throughput profiling against the desired criteria. Here, we review the most recent additions toward a growing toolbox of versatile assays using fluorescence, absorbance and mass spectrometry readouts. While conventional solution based high-throughput screening in microtiter plate formats is still important, the implementation of novel screening protocols for microfluidic cell or droplet sorting systems supports technological advances for ultra-high-frequency screening that now can dramatically reduce the timescale of engineering projects. We discuss practical issues of scope, scalability, sensitivity and stereoselectivity for the improvement of biotechnologically relevant enzymes from different classes.