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Recently, a novel group of fungal peroxidases, known as the aromatic peroxygenases (APO), has been discovered. Members of these extracellular biocatalysts produced by agaric basidiomycetes such as Agrocybe aegerita or Coprinellus radians catalyze reactions—for example, the peroxygenation of naphthalene, toluene, dibenzothiophene, or pyridine—which are actually attributed to cytochrome P450 monooxygenases. Here, for the first time, genetic information is presented on this new group of peroxide-consuming enzymes. The gene of A. aegerita peroxygenase (apo1) was identified on the level of messenger RNA and genomic DNA. The gene sequence was affirmed by peptide sequences obtained through an Edman degradation and de novo peptide sequencing of the purified enzyme. Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that the course of enzyme activity correlated well with that of mRNA signals for apo1 in A. aegerita. The full-length sequences of A. aegerita peroxygenase as well as a partial sequence of C. radians peroxygenase confirmed the enzymes’ affiliation to the heme-thiolate proteins. The sequences revealed no homology to classic peroxidases, cytochrome P450 enzymes, and only little homology (<30%) to fungal chloroperoxidase produced by the ascomycete Caldariomyces fumago (and this only in the N-terminal part of the protein comprising the heme-binding region and part of the distal heme pocket). This fact reinforces the novelty of APO proteins. On the other hand, homology retrievals in genetic databases resulted in the identification of various APO homologous genes and transcripts, particularly among the agaric fungi, indicating APO’s widespread occurrence in the fungal kingdom.
An extracellular peroxygenase from Marasmius rotula was produced in liquid culture, chromatographically purified and partially characterized. This is the third aromatic peroxygenase (APO) that has been characterized in detail and the first one that can be produced in high yields. The highest enzyme levels of about 41,000 U l-1 (corresponding to appr. 445 mg l-1 APO protein) exceeded the hitherto reported levels more than 40-fold and were detected in carbon- and nitrogen-rich complex media. The enzyme was purified by FPLC to apparent homogeneity (SDS-PAGE) with a molecular mass of 32 kDa (27 kDa after deglycosylation) and isoelectric points between 4.97 and 5.27. The UV-visible spectrum of the native enzyme showed a characteristic maximum (Soret band) at 418 nm that shifted after reduction with sodium dithionite and flushing with carbon monoxide to 443 nm. The pH optimum of the M. rotula enzyme was found to vary between pH 5 and 6 for most reactions studied. The apparent Km-values for 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, benzyl alcohol, veratryl alcohol, naphthalene and H2O2 were 0.133, 0.118, 0.279, 0.791 and 3.14 mM, respectively. M. rotula APO was found to be highly stable in a pH range from 5 to 10 as well as in the presence of organic solvents (50% vol/vol) such as methanol, acetonitrile and N,N-dimethylformamide. Unlike other APOs, the peroxygenase of M. rotula showed neither brominating nor chlorinating activities.
Two unspecific peroxygenases (UPO, EC 1.11.2.1) from the basidiomycetous fungi Marasmius rotula and Marasmius wettsteinii oxidized steroids with hydroxyacetyl and hydroxyl functionalities at C17 - such as cortisone, Reichstein's substance S and prednisone - via stepwise oxygenation and final fission of the side chain. The sequential oxidation started with the hydroxylation of the terminal carbon (C21) leading to a stable geminal alcohol (e.g. cortisone 21-gem-diol) and proceeded via a second oxygenation resulting in the corresponding α-ketocarboxylic acid (e.g. cortisone 21-oic acid). The latter decomposed under formation of adrenosterone (4-androstene-3,11,17-trione) as well as formic acid and carbonic acid (that is in equilibrium with carbon dioxide); fission products comprising two carbon atoms such as glycolic acid or glyoxylic acid were not detected. Protein models based on the crystal structure data of MroUPO (Marasmius rotula unspecific peroxygenase) revealed that the bulky cortisone molecule suitably fits into the enzyme's access channel, which enables the heme iron to come in close contact to the carbons (C21, C20) of the steroidal side chain. ICP-MS analysis of purified MroUPO confirmed the presence of magnesium supposedly stabilizing the porphyrin ring system.
Aromatic peroxygenases (APOs) represent a unique oxidoreductase sub-subclass of heme proteins with peroxygenase and peroxidase activity and were thus recently assigned a distinct EC classification (EC 1.11.2.1). They catalyze, inter alia, oxyfunctionalization reactions of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons with remarkable regio- and stereoselectivities. When compared with cytochrome P450, APOs appear to be the choice enzymes for oxyfunctionalizations in organic synthesis due to their independence from a cellular environment and their greater chemical versatility. Here, the first two crystal structures of a heavily glycosylated fungal aromatic peroxygenase (AaeAPO) are described. They reveal different pH-dependent ligand binding modes. We model the fitting of various substrates in AaeAPO, illustrating the way the enzyme oxygenates polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Spatial restrictions by a phenylalanine pentad in the active-site environment govern substrate specificity in AaeAPO.