title: Discovery and characterization of a 5-hydroxymethylfurfural oxidase from Methylovorus sp. strain MP688.
abstract: In the search for useful and renewable chemical building blocks, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) has emerged as a very promising candidate, as it can be prepared from sugars. HMF can be oxidized to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), which is used as a substitute for petroleum-based terephthalate in polymer production. On the basis of a recently identified bacterial degradation pathway for HMF, candidate genes responsible for selective HMF oxidation have been identified. Heterologous expression of a protein from Methylovorus sp. strain MP688 in Escherichia coli and subsequent enzyme characterization showed that the respective gene indeed encodes an efficient HMF oxidase (HMFO). HMFO is a flavin adenine dinucleotide-containing oxidase and belongs to the glucose-methanol-choline-type flavoprotein oxidase family. Intriguingly, the activity of HMFO is not restricted to HMF, as it is active with a wide range of aromatic primary alcohols and aldehydes. The enzyme was shown to be relatively thermostable and active over a broad pH range. This makes HMFO a promising oxidative biocatalyst that can be used for the production of FDCA from HMF, a reaction involving both alcohol and aldehyde oxidations.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Enzymology Group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Willem P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Dijkman
authors.forename: Marco W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Fraaije
mesh_terms: D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004795:Enzyme Stability; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005662:Furaldehyde / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D042762:Methylophilaceae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: C008046:5-hydroxymethylfurfural; D005662:Furaldehyde; D010088:Oxidoreductases