Cytochrome P450 (CYP) mediated enzymatic hydroxylation of fatty acids present a green alternative to chemical synthesis of hydroxy fatty acids (HFAs), which are high-value oleochemicals with various uses in materials industry and medical field. Although many CYPs require the presence of additional reductase proteins for catalytic activity, self-sufficient CYPs have their reductase partner naturally fused into their catalytic domain, leading to a greatly simplified biotransformation process. A recently discovered self-sufficient CYP, BAMF2522 from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DSM 7, exhibits novel regioselectivity by hydroxylating in-chain positions of palmitic acid generating ω-1 to ω-7 HFAs, a rare regiodiversity profile among CYPs. Besides, F89I mutant of BAMF2522 expanded hydroxylation up to ω-9 position of palmitic acid. Here, we further characterize this enzyme by determining optimum temperature and pH as well as thermal stability. Moreover, using extensive site-directed and site-saturation mutagenesis, we obtained BAMF2522 variants that demonstrate greatly increased regioselectivity for in-chain positions (ω-4 to ω-9) of various medium to long chain fatty acids. Remarkably, when a six-residue mutant was reacted with palmitic acid, 84% of total product content was the sum of ω-7, ω-8 and ω-9 HFA products, the highest in-chain selectivity observed to date with a self-sufficient CYP. In short, our study demonstrates the potential of a recently identified CYP and its mutants for green and sustainable production of a variety of in-chain hydroxy enriched HFAs.
Production of long-chain hydroxy fatty acids by Starmerella bombicola
