Stereoselective reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate by Escherichia coli transformant cells coexpressing the aldehyde reductase and glucose dehydrogenase genes

The asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) to ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate [(R)-CHBE] using Escherichia coli cells, which coexpress both the aldehyde reductase gene from Sporobolomyces salmonicolor and the glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) gene from Bacillus megaterium as a catalyst was investigated. In an organic solvent-water two-phase system, (R)-CHBE formed in the organic phase amounted to 1610 mM (268 mg/ml), with a molar yield of 94.1% and an optical purity of 91.7% enantiomeric excess. The calculated turnover number of NADP⁺ to CHBE formed was 13 500 mol/mol. Since the use of E. coli JM109 cells harboring pKAR and pACGD as a catalyst is simple, and does not require the addition of GDH or the isolation of the enzymes, it is highly advantageous for the practical synthesis of (R)-CHBE. Received: 5 October 1998 / Received revision: 16 November 1998 / Accepted: 5 December 1998     

Synthesis of optically active ethyl 4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate by microbial reduction

 A total of 400 yeast strains were examined for the ability to reduce ethyl 4-chloroacetoacetate (COBE) to ethyl 4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyrate (CHBE) by using acetone-dried cells in the presence of a coenzyme-recycling system in water/n-butyl acetate. We discovered some yeast strains that reduced COBE to (S)-CHBE. Heating of acetone-dried cells of the selected yeast strains increased the optical purity of the product. There may be several enzymes that can reduce COBE stereoselectively in the same yeast cells. The cultured broth of Candida magnoliae accumulated 90 g/l (S)-CHBE (96.6% enantiomeric excess, e.e.) in the presence of glucose, NADP and glucose dehydrogenase in n-butyl acetate. When these cells were heated, the stereoselectivity of the reduction increased to 99% e.e. (S)-CHBE is one of the useful chiral building blocks applicable to the synthesis of some pharmaceuticals. We expect that the cheap and industrial production of this important chiral compound will follow the discovery of this yeast strain. Received: 9 September 1998 / Received last revision: 17 February 1999 / Accepted: 5 March 1999     

A Novel Reductase from Candida albicans for the Production of Ethyl (S)-4-Chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate

A novel NADPH-dependent reductase (CaCR) from Candida albicans was cloned for the first time. It catalyzed asymmetric reduction to produce ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ((S)-CHBE). It contained an open reading frame of 843 bp encoding 281 amino acids. When co-expressed with a glucose dehydrogenase in Escherichia coli, recombinant CaCR exhibited an activity of 5.7 U/mg with ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) as substrate. In the biocatalysis of COBE to (S)-CHBE, 1320 mM (S)-CHBE was obtained without extra NADP⁺/NADPH in a water/butyl acetate system, and the optical purity of the (S)-isomer was higher than 99% enantiomeric excess.     

Biocatalytic synthesis of (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ethyl ester using a recombinant whole-cell catalyst

A cofactor regeneration system for enzymatic biosynthesis was constructed by coexpressing a carbonyl reductase from Pichia stipitis and a glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus megaterium in Escherichia coli Rosetta (DE3) PlySs. Transformants containing the polycistronic plasmid pET-PII-SD2-AS1-B exhibited an activity of 13.5 U/mg protein with 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate ethyl ester (COBE) as the substrate and an activity of 14.4 U/mg protein with glucose as the substrate; NAD(H) was the coenzyme in both cases. Asymmetric reduction of COBE to (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ethyl ester [(S)-CHBE] with more than 99% enantiomeric excess was demonstrated by transformants. Furthermore, the paper made a comparison of crude enzyme catalysis and whole-cell catalysis in an aqueous monophasic system and a water/organic solvent biphasic system. In the water/n-butyl acetate system, the coexpression system produced 1,398 mM CHBE in the organic phase, which is the highest yield ever reported for CHBE production by NADH-dependent reductases from yeasts. In this case, the molar yield of CHBE was 90.7%, and the total turnover number, defined as moles (S)-CHBE formed per mole NAD+, was 13,980.     

Asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate to ethyl (<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate with two co-existing,recombinant<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Escherichia coli</Emphasis> strains

Two recombinant strains, E. coli M15 (pQE30-alr0307) and E. coli M15 (pQE30-gdh0310), which were constructed to express, respectively, an NADPH-dependent aldehyde reductase gene and a glucose dehydrogenase gene, were mixed in an appropriate ratio and used for the asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate to ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate. The former strain acted as catalyst and the latter functioned in NADPH regeneration. The biotransformation was completed effectively without any addition of glucose dehydrogenase or NADP⁺/NADPH. An optical purity of 99% (ee) was obtained and the product yield reached 90.5% from 28.5 mM substrate. Revisions requested 27 July 2004/23 September 2004; Revisions received 21 September 2004/29 November 2004     

Construction of a two-strain system for asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate to (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ethyl ester

Escherichia coli M15 (pQE30-car0210) was constructed to express carbonyl reductase (CAR) by cloning the car gene from Candida magnoliae and inserting it into pQE30. By cultivating E. coli M15 (pQE30-car0210) and M15 (pQE30-gdh0310), 8.2-fold and 12.3-fold enhancements in specific enzymatic activity over the corresponding original strain were achieved, respectively. After separate cultivations, these two strains were then mixed together at appropriate ratio to construct a novel two-strain system, in which M15 (pQE30-car0210) expressed CAR for ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) bioreduction and M15 (pQE30-gdh0310) expressed glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) regeneration. In this complex system, the effects of substrate concentration, the biomass ratio between two strains as well as reaction temperature were investigated for efficient bioreduction. The results showed that the bioreduction reaction could be completed effectively without any addition of GDH or NADPH/NADP⁺. An optical purity of 99% (enantiometric efficiency) was obtained, and the yield of (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ethyl ester reached 96.6% when initial concentration of COBE was 36.9 mM. The coupling reactions between two different strains were further explored by determining the profile of NADPH in the reaction broth.     

A novel reductase from Candida albicans for the production of ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate

A novel NADPH-dependent reductase (CaCR) from Candida albicans was cloned for the first time. It catalyzed asymmetric reduction to produce ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ((S)-CHBE). It contained an open reading frame of 843 bp encoding 281 amino acids. When co-expressed with a glucose dehydrogenase in Escherichia coli, recombinant CaCR exhibited an activity of 5.7 U/mg with ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) as substrate. In the biocatalysis of COBE to (S)-CHBE, 1320 mM (S)-CHBE was obtained without extra NADP+/NADPH in a water/butyl acetate system, and the optical purity of the (S)-isomer was higher than 99% enantiomeric excess.     

A novel carbonyl reductase from Pichia stipitis for the production of ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate

An NADPH-dependent carbonyl reductase (PsCR) gene from Pichia stipitis was cloned. It contains an open reading frame of 849 bp encoding 283 amino acids whose sequence had less than 60% identity to known reductases that produce ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoates (S-CHBE). When expressed in Escherichia coli, the recombinant PsCR exhibited an activity of 27 U/mg using ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) as a substrate. Reduction of COBE to (S)-CHBE by transformants in an aqueous mono-phase system for 18 h, gave a molar yield of 94% and an optical purity of the (S)-isomer of more than 99% enantiomeric excess.     

Synthesis of optically pure ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate by Escherichia coli transformant cells coexpressing the carbonyl reductase and glucose dehydrogenase genes

The asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) to ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ((S)-CHBE) was investigated. Escherichia coli cells expressing both the carbonyl reductase (S1) gene from Candida magnoliae and the glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) gene from Bacillus megaterium were used as the catalyst. In an organic-solvent-water two-phase system, (S)-CHBE formed in the organic phase amounted to 2.58 M (430 g/l), the molar yield being 85%. E. coli transformant cells coproducing S1 and GDH accumulated 1.25 M (208 g/l) (S)-CHBE in an aqueous monophase system by continuously feeding on COBE, which is unstable in an aqueous solution. In this case, the calculated turnover of NADP+ (the oxidized form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) to CHBE was 21,600 mol/mol. The optical purity of the (S)-CHBE formed was 100% enantiomeric excess in both systems. The aqueous system used for the reduction reaction involving E. coli HB101 cells carrying a plasmid containing the S1 and GDH genes as a catalyst is simple. Furthermore, the system does not require the addition of commercially available GDH or an organic solvent. Therefore this system is highly advantageous for the practical synthesis of optically pure (S)-CHBE.     

Efficient bioreduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate to (S)-4-chloro-3-hydrobutanoate by whole cells ofCandida magnoliae in water/n-butyl acetate two-phase system

The asymmetric biosynthesis of ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydrobutanoate from ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate was investigated by using whole cells ofCandida magnoliae JX120-3 without the addition of glucose dehydrogenase or NADP⁺/NADPH. In a one-phase system, the bioconversion yield was seriously affected on the addition of 12.1 g/L ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate. In order to reduce this substrate inhibition, a water/n-butyl acetate two-phase system was developed, and the bioreduction conditions optimized with regard to the yield and product enantiometric excess value. The optimal conditions were as following: water ton-butyl acetate volume ratio of 1∶1, 4.0 g DCW/L active cells, 50 g/L glucose and 35°C. By adopting a dropwise substrate feeding strategy, high concentration of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (60 g/L) could be asymmetrically reduced to ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydrobutanoate with high yield (93.8%) and high enantiometric excess value (92.7%).     

Bioconversion of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate by permeabilized fresh brewer’s yeast cells in the presence of allyl bromide

Ethyl(R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ((R)-CHBE) are obtained by cetyltrimetylammonium bromide (CTAB) permeabilized fresh brewer’s yeast whole cells bioconversion of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE ) in the presence of allyl bromide. The results showed that the activities of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) in CTAB permeabilized brewer’s yeast cells increased 525 and 7.9-fold, respectively, compared with that in the nonpermeabilized cells and had high enantioselectivity to convert COBE to (R)-CHBE. As one of co-substrates, glucose-6-phosphate was preprepared using glucose phosphorylation by hexokinase-catalyzed of CTAB permeabilized brewer’s yeast cells. In a two phase reaction system with n-butyl acetate as organic solvent and with 2-propanol and glucose-6-phosphate as co-substrates, the highest (R)-CHBE concentration of 447 mM was obtained with 110–130 g/l of the CTAB permeabilized cells at optimized pH, temperature, feeding rate and the shake speed of 125 r/min. The yield and enantiomeric excess (ee) of (R)-CHBE reached 99.5 and 99%, respectively, within 6 h.     

Synthese von 3-Merkapto-3-methylpentan-5-lacton

An NADPH-dependent sorbose reductase from Candida albicans was identified to catalyze the asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE). The activity of the recombinant enzyme toward COBE was 6.2 U/mg. The asymmetric reduction of COBE was performed with two coexisting recombinant Escherichia coli strains, in which the recombinant E. coli expressing glucose dehydrogenase was used as an NADPH regenerator. An optical purity of 99% (e.e.) and a maximum yield of 1240 mM (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate were obtained under an optimal biomass ratio of 1:2. A highest turnover number of 53,900 was achieved without adding extra NADP⁺/NADPH compared with those known COBE-catalytic systems.     

固定化细胞有机相催化不对称还原β-羰基酯

将酵母细胞用海藻酸钙包埋后用于有机相催化不对称还原4-氯乙酰乙酸乙酯制备光学活性的4-氯-3-羟基丁酸乙酯,从中筛选得到具有较高立体选择性和还原能力的菌株假丝酵母SW0401,将此菌株的细胞固定化细胞作为研究对象,系统考察了固定化条件、固定化细胞大小、反应溶剂、初始底物浓度、辅助底物、固定化细胞热处理和抑制剂对还原反应的影响。结果表明,上述因素对反应的摩尔转化率和产物（S）-CHBE光学纯度有显著影响。固定化时所用缓冲液的pH值为7．0时和固定化细胞颗粒平均直径为2.5mm较合适,以正己烷为反应介质时反应的摩尔转化率和产物光学纯度最优,初始底物浓度以54.7mmol／L为宜,辅助底物以1-己醇为佳。对固定化细胞的热处理和添加抑制剂烯丙醇均能够明显改善产物的光学纯度,但对提高摩尔转化率有负面影响。     

Characterization of a newly synthesized carbonyl reductase and construction of a biocatalytic process for the synthesis of ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate with high space-time yield

A carbonyl reductase (SCR2) gene was synthesized and expressed in Escherichia coli after codon optimization to investigate its biochemical properties and application in biosynthesis of ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ((S)-CHBE), which is an important chiral synthon for the side chain of cholesterol-lowering drug. The recombinant SCR2 was purified and characterized using ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) as substrate. The specific activity of purified enzyme was 11.9 U mg^?1. The optimum temperature and pH for enzyme activity were 45 °C and pH 6.0, respectively. The half-lives of recombinant SCR2 were 16.5, 7.7, 2.2, 0.41, and 0.05 h at 30 °C, 35 °C, 40 °C, 45 °C, and 50 °C, respectively, and it was highly stable in acidic environment. This SCR2 displayed a relatively narrow substrate specificity. The apparent K _m and V _max values of purified enzyme for COBE are 6.4 mM and 63.3 μmol min^?1 mg^?1, respectively. The biocatalytic process for the synthesis of (S)-CHBE was constructed by this SCR2 in an aqueous–organic solvent system with a substrate fed-batch strategy. At the final COBE concentration of 1 M, (S)-CHBE with yield of 95.3 % and e.e. of 99 % was obtained after 6-h reaction. In this process, the space-time yield per gram of biomass (dry cell weight, DCW) and turnover number of NADP⁺ to (S)-CHBE were 26.5 mmol L^?1 h^?1 g^?1 DCW and 40,000 mol/mol, respectively, which were the highest values as compared with other works.     

Synthesis of ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyrate by immobilized cells using amino acid-modified magnetic nanoparticles

Fe₃O₄-Arg was selected as the optimal carrier due to its high activity recovery of immobilized cells in the preparation of Fe₃O₄-Arg-Cells. The optimal immobilization conditions for the preparation of Fe₃O₄-Arg-Cells were 30 °C, 4 h, pH 7, and 3 g dry yeast. The activity recovery of immobilized cells reached 76.8 %. For a batch reduction in a shaker in an alternating magnetic field, Fe₃O₄-Arg-Cells were used as a catalyst to gain ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyrate ((R)-CHBE). For further improvement in reduction productivity, a continuous reduction in the magnetic fluidized bed reactor system (MFBRS) was completed. Under their optimal transformation conditions, it took 24 h for Fe₃O₄-Arg-Cells to complete the conversion of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) (0.8553 mol/L) in the shaker and only 8 h for the batch reduction in an alternating magnetic field. Continuous reduction in MFBRS provided new ideas for the efficient production of (R)-CHBE; 1.5882 mol/L (10 mL) of COBE can be completely converted in 6 h. The conversion and enantiomeric excess (e.e.) of (R)-CHBE were 100 % and above 99.9 % respectively, in the three reaction systems mentioned above.     

Molecular cloning and overexpression of the gene encoding an NADPH-dependent carbonyl reductase from Candida magnoliae, involved in stereoselective reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate

An NADPH-dependent carbonyl reductase (S1) isolated from Candida magnoliae catalyzed the reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) to ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate (CHBE), with a 100% enantiomeric excess, which is a useful chiral building block for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. The gene encoding the enzyme was cloned and sequenced. The S1 gene comprises 849 bp and encodes a polypeptide of 30,420 Da. The deduced amino acid sequence showed a high degree of similarity to those of the other members of the short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase superfamily. The S1 gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli under the control of the lac promoter. The enzyme expressed in E. coli was purified to homogeneity and had the same catalytic properties as the enzyme from C. magnoliae did. An E. coli transformant reduced COBE to 125 g/l of (S)-CHBE, with an optical purity of 100% enantiomeric excess, in an organic solvent two-phase system.     

Development of a substrate-coupled biocatalytic process driven by an NADPH-dependent sorbose reductase from Candida albicans for the asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate

A substrate-coupled biocatalytic process was developed based on the reactions catalyzed by an NADPH-dependent sorbose reductase (SOU1) from Candida albicans in which ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) was reduced to (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate [(S)-CHBE], while NADPH was regenerated by the same enzyme via oxidation of sugar alcohols. (S)-CHBE yields of 1,140, 1,150, and 780?mM were obtained from 1,220?mM COBE when sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol were used as co-substrates, respectively. Optimization of COBE and sorbitol proportions resulted in a maximum yield of (S)-CHBE (2,340?mM) from 2,500?mM COBE, and the enantiomeric excess was 99.6?%. The substrate-coupled system driven by SOU1 maintained a stable pH and a robust intracellular NADPH circulation; thus, pH adjustment and addition of extra coenzymes were unnecessary.     

Efficient production of recombinant aldehyde reductase and its application for asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate to ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate

An NADPH-dependent aldehyde reductase (ALR, EC1.1.1.2) gene is cloned from Sporobolomyces salmonicolor ZJUB 105, and inserted into plasmid pQE30 to construct the expression plasmid (pQE30-ALR). A variety of E. coli strains were employed as hosts to obtain transformants with pQE30-ALR, respectively. Among these different types of transformants, the highest enzyme activity of ALR can be produced with E. coli M15 (pQE30-ALR). The bioactivity of ALR could be further improved significantly by the optimization of induction conditions. The results showed that the enzyme activity of ALR reached 6.48 U/mg protein, which is fifteen times higher than that of S. salmonicolor ZJUB 105. This recombinant strain was applied to the asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) to ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3- hydroxybutanoate (CHBE). The results showed that the yield and optical purity of (R)-CHBE reached 98.5% and 99% e.e. (enantiomeric excess), respectively.     

Purification and characterization of a novel NADH-dependent carbonyl reductase from Pichia stipitis involved in biosynthesis of optically pure ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate

A novel NADH-dependent dehydrogenases/reductases (SDRs) superfamily reductase (PsCRII) was isolated from Pichia stipitis. It produced ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate [(S)-CHBE] in greater than 99% enantiomeric excess. This enzyme was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by Q-Sepharose chromatography. Compared to similar known reductases producing (S)-CHBE, PsCR II was more suitable for production since the purified PsCRII preferred the inexpensive cofactor NADH to NADPH as the electron donor. Furthermore, the Km of PsCRII for ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE) was 3.3 mM, and the corresponding Vmax was 224 μmol/mg protein/min. The catalytic efficiency is the highest value ever reported for NADH-dependent reductases from yeasts that produce CHBE with high enantioselectivity. In addition, this enzyme exhibited broad substrate specificity for several β-keto esters using NADH as the coenzyme. The properties of PsCRII with those of other carbonyl reductases from yeasts were also compared in this study.     

Microbial asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate to optically active ethyl-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate

Summary The synthesis of ethyl (R)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate through the asymmetric reduction of ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate with the NADPH-dependent aldehyde reductase ofSporobolomyces salmonicolor AKU 4429 is described. Under preparative scale reaction conditions with the acetone-fractionated aldehyde reductase, the amount of ethyl-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate reached 33.1 mg/ml (85%ee; molar yield, 74.0%). Furthermore, conversion to ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate occurred on incubation with washed cells ofTrichosporon cutaneum AKU 4864 as the catalyst.