NAD+-Dependent (S)-Specific Secondary Alcohol Dehydrogenase Involved in Stereoinversion of 3-Pentyn-2-ol Catalyzed by Nocardia fusca AKU 2123

An NAD⁺-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase was purified to homogeneity from Nocardia fusca AKU 2123. The enzyme catalyzed (S)-specific oxidation of 3-pentyn-2-ol (PYOH), i.e., part of the stereoinversion reaction for the production of (R)-PYOH, which is a valuable chiral building block for pharmaceuticals, from the racemate. The enzyme used a broad variety of secondary alcohols including alkyl alcohols, alkenyl alcohols, acetylenic alcohols, and aromatic alcohols as substrates. The oxidation was (S)-isomer specific in every case. The K _m and V _max for (S)-PYOH and (S)-2-hexanol oxidation were 1.6 mM and 53 μmol/min/mg, and 0.33 mM and 130 μmol/min/mg, respectively. The enzyme also catalyzed stereoselective reduction of carbonyl compounds. (S)-2-Hexanol and ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate in high optical purity were produced from 2-hexanone and ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate by the purified enzyme, respectively. The K _m and V _max for 2-hexanone reduction were 2.5 mM and 260 μmol/min/mg. The enzyme has a relative molecular mass of 150,000 and consists of four identical subunits. The NH₂-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme shows similarity with those of the carbonyl reductase from Rhodococcus erythropolis and phenylacetaldehyde reductase from Corynebacterium sp.