title: Engineering p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase to a p-hydroxymandelate synthase and evidence for the proposed benzene oxide intermediate in homogentisate formation.
abstract: p-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPD) plays a key role in the normal catabolism of tyrosine. An Fe2+/oxygen-dependent enzyme, it converts p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate into homogentisate and is part of the superfamily of alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent enzymes that couples oxidative decarboxylation of an alpha-ketoacid cofactor to oxidative modification of its substrate. In this case, the alpha-ketoacid is part of the substrate side chain. HPD shows strong homology to p-hydroxymandelate synthase (HMS), an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of p-hydroxymandelate from p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate, an early step in the biosynthesis of p-hydroxyphenylglycine, which is a nonproteinogenic amino acid incorporated into several biologically active secondary metabolites. Sequence alignment between the HPD and the HMS enzyme families and analysis of the Pseudomonas fluorescens HPD crystal structure highlighted four residues within each active site that may play roles in catalytic differentiation between the two products. We attempted to convert Streptomyces avermitilis HPD into an engineered S. avermitilis HMS by site-directed mutagenesis of these four residues individually and in combination. HPLC assay analysis of each His6-tagged mutant indicated that F337I successfully produced p-hydroxymandelate, along with homogentisate and an unknown compound. The structure of the latter was determined to be an oxepinone derived from the benzene-oxide intermediate long hypothesized in HPD catalysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gunsior
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ravel
authors.forename: Gregory L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Challis
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Townsend
mesh_terms: D015111:4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D002384:Catalysis; D003510:Cyclohexanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005998:Glycine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D006713:Homogentisic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D008333:Mandelic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D010802:Phylogeny; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D011551:Pseudomonas fluorescens / Q000201:enzymology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013302:Streptomyces / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D003510:Cyclohexanes; D008333:Mandelic Acids; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C014600:4-hydroxymandelic acid; C023010:4-hydroxyphenylglycine; D015111:4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; D006713:Homogentisic Acid; D005998:Glycine; C023372:benzene oxide