title: Screening of yeasts for cell-free production of (R)-phenylacetylcarbinol.
abstract: 105 yeast strains from 10 genera and 40 species were evaluated for cell-free production of (R)-phenylacetylcarbinol (PAC), the chiral precursor in the manufacture of the pharmaceuticals ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. Carboligase activity of pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC), forming PAC from benzaldehyde and pyruvate, was found in extracts of 98 strains. PAC was not formed from benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde, an activity of bacterial PDCs from Zymomonas mobilis and Zymobacter palmae. Two interesting groups of candidates were identified in the yeast screening: carboligase activities of Schizosaccharomyces pombe PDCs were very low but showed best resistance to pre-incubation with acetaldehyde and benzaldehyde; and highest carboligase activities combined with medium resistance were found in strains of Candida utilis, C. tropicalis and C. albicans.
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia. b.rosche@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rosche
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Breuer
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hauer
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: D000079:Acetaldehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D000096:Acetone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism*; D000447:Aldehydes / Q000378:metabolism; D001547:Benzaldehydes / Q000378:metabolism; D002474:Cell-Free System / Q000378:metabolism*; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D011767:Pyruvate Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity; D015003:Yeasts / Q000145:classification* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000447:Aldehydes; D001547:Benzaldehydes; D000096:Acetone; C035293:1-hydroxy-1-phenyl-2-propanone; D011767:Pyruvate Decarboxylase; D000079:Acetaldehyde; C032175:benzaldehyde