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Identification and characterization of a thermostable and cobalt-dependent amidase from Burkholderia phytofirmans ZJB-15079 for efficient synthesis of (R)-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropionic acid

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Abstract

Enantiomerically pure 3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropionic acids are important chiral building blocks for a series of pharmaceuticals. Here, a bacteria strain with 3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropanamide-degrading ability was screened and identified as Burkholderia phytofirmans ZJB-15079, from which a novel amidase (Bp-Ami) was cloned and demonstrated to be capable of kinetic resolution of rac-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropanamide to optically pure (R)-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropionic acid. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Bp-Ami was closely located to the acetamidase/formamidase (FmdA_AmdA) family, and it shared high homology with acetamidases. Bp-Ami was found to be the first cobalt-dependent FmdA_AmdA family amidase. The enzyme activity was significantly increased by 37.7-fold in the presence of 1 mM Co2+, with a specific activity of 753.5 U/mg, K m value of 24.73 mM, and k cat /K m value of 22.47 mM−1 s−1. As an enzyme from mesophile, Bp-Ami exhibited extreme thermostability with a half-life of 47.93 h at 80 °C, which was even superior to other reported amidases from thermophiles. The whole cell catalysis of 200 g/L 3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropanamide by Escherichia coli harboring Bp-Ami (5 g/L) resulted in 44 % yield and an enantiomeric excess (ee p) of 95 % within 10 min (E = 86). The high substrate tolerance, high specific activity, and extreme thermostability demonstrated the great potential of Bp-Ami for efficient biocatalytic synthesis of (R)-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropionic acid.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21202150, No. 21602199), Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Y4080334, LY13B060004), and National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (No. 2012AA022201B).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, People’s Republic of China

    Zhe-Ming Wu, Ren-Chao Zheng, Xiao-Ling Tang & Yu-Guo Zheng

  2. Engineering Research Center of Bioconversion and Biopurification of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, People’s Republic of China

    Zhe-Ming Wu, Ren-Chao Zheng, Xiao-Ling Tang & Yu-Guo Zheng

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  1. Zhe-Ming Wu
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  2. Ren-Chao Zheng
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Correspondence to Yu-Guo Zheng.

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Wu, ZM., Zheng, RC., Tang, XL. et al. Identification and characterization of a thermostable and cobalt-dependent amidase from Burkholderia phytofirmans ZJB-15079 for efficient synthesis of (R)-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropionic acid. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 101, 1953–1964 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-7921-x

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