Linkers in Action: Exploring Fusion Enzymes for Oxyfunctionlizations in Non-Conventional Media Through Experiments and Simulations

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

Research Organisations

External Research Organisations

  • Aarhus University
  • Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH)
View graph of relations

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere202401893
JournalCHEMCATCHEM
Volume17
Issue number9
Early online date10 Mar 2025
Publication statusPublished - 8 May 2025

Abstract

Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) are key for the selective oxidation of ketones into diverse (cyclic) esters. However, challenges like oxygen and cofactor dependence and substrate/product inhibition hinder their broader application. To address some of these issues, nonconventional media have been applied; still, they lack certain water required for enzyme hydration and cofactor regeneration, reducing activity and/or stability. Fusion approaches enable efficient cofactor recycling by shortening the diffusion distance between enzyme active sites in cascades, especially under low-water conditions. Trial-and-error linker design and time-intensive construction of fusion enzymes substantially slow down the development of fusion enzymes. In this study, we present the work on the fusions of cyclohexanone monooxygenase (CHMO) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) with linkers owing varying lengths and flexibility in both orientations in nonconventional media, focusing on understanding the effects of linkers on the structural and catalytic properties of fusion enzymes. As such, 12 new fusion enzymes were constructed and evaluated regarding the kinetics, specific activity, and stability, identifying the optimal ones for the linear oxyfunctionlization cascade in aqueous–organic biphasic systems. The conformation and flexibility of linkers and the spatial arrangement of fusion enzymes were studied with simulations, which provides a deep understanding of linkers’ influence and offers insights into the rational design of fusion enzymes.

Keywords

    Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases, Biocatalytic cascades, Fusion enzymes, Linker design, Molecular dynamics simulations

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cite this

Linkers in Action: Exploring Fusion Enzymes for Oxyfunctionlizations in Non-Conventional Media Through Experiments and Simulations. / Ma, Yu; Bittner, Jan Philipp; Vernet, Guillem et al.
In: CHEMCATCHEM, Vol. 17, No. 9, e202401893, 08.05.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Ma Y, Bittner JP, Vernet G, Zhang N, Kara S. Linkers in Action: Exploring Fusion Enzymes for Oxyfunctionlizations in Non-Conventional Media Through Experiments and Simulations. CHEMCATCHEM. 2025 May 8;17(9):e202401893. Epub 2025 Mar 10. doi: 10.1002/cctc.202401893
Download
@article{45ba7522eb554e138416e24c4b37c220,
title = "Linkers in Action: Exploring Fusion Enzymes for Oxyfunctionlizations in Non-Conventional Media Through Experiments and Simulations",
abstract = "Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) are key for the selective oxidation of ketones into diverse (cyclic) esters. However, challenges like oxygen and cofactor dependence and substrate/product inhibition hinder their broader application. To address some of these issues, nonconventional media have been applied; still, they lack certain water required for enzyme hydration and cofactor regeneration, reducing activity and/or stability. Fusion approaches enable efficient cofactor recycling by shortening the diffusion distance between enzyme active sites in cascades, especially under low-water conditions. Trial-and-error linker design and time-intensive construction of fusion enzymes substantially slow down the development of fusion enzymes. In this study, we present the work on the fusions of cyclohexanone monooxygenase (CHMO) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) with linkers owing varying lengths and flexibility in both orientations in nonconventional media, focusing on understanding the effects of linkers on the structural and catalytic properties of fusion enzymes. As such, 12 new fusion enzymes were constructed and evaluated regarding the kinetics, specific activity, and stability, identifying the optimal ones for the linear oxyfunctionlization cascade in aqueous–organic biphasic systems. The conformation and flexibility of linkers and the spatial arrangement of fusion enzymes were studied with simulations, which provides a deep understanding of linkers{\textquoteright} influence and offers insights into the rational design of fusion enzymes.",
keywords = "Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases, Biocatalytic cascades, Fusion enzymes, Linker design, Molecular dynamics simulations",
author = "Yu Ma and Bittner, {Jan Philipp} and Guillem Vernet and Ningning Zhang and Selin Kara",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 The Author(s). ChemCatChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.",
year = "2025",
month = may,
day = "8",
doi = "10.1002/cctc.202401893",
language = "English",
volume = "17",
journal = "CHEMCATCHEM",
issn = "1867-3880",
publisher = "Wiley - VCH Verlag GmbH & CO. KGaA",
number = "9",

}

Download

TY - JOUR

T1 - Linkers in Action

T2 - Exploring Fusion Enzymes for Oxyfunctionlizations in Non-Conventional Media Through Experiments and Simulations

AU - Ma, Yu

AU - Bittner, Jan Philipp

AU - Vernet, Guillem

AU - Zhang, Ningning

AU - Kara, Selin

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). ChemCatChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.

PY - 2025/5/8

Y1 - 2025/5/8

N2 - Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) are key for the selective oxidation of ketones into diverse (cyclic) esters. However, challenges like oxygen and cofactor dependence and substrate/product inhibition hinder their broader application. To address some of these issues, nonconventional media have been applied; still, they lack certain water required for enzyme hydration and cofactor regeneration, reducing activity and/or stability. Fusion approaches enable efficient cofactor recycling by shortening the diffusion distance between enzyme active sites in cascades, especially under low-water conditions. Trial-and-error linker design and time-intensive construction of fusion enzymes substantially slow down the development of fusion enzymes. In this study, we present the work on the fusions of cyclohexanone monooxygenase (CHMO) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) with linkers owing varying lengths and flexibility in both orientations in nonconventional media, focusing on understanding the effects of linkers on the structural and catalytic properties of fusion enzymes. As such, 12 new fusion enzymes were constructed and evaluated regarding the kinetics, specific activity, and stability, identifying the optimal ones for the linear oxyfunctionlization cascade in aqueous–organic biphasic systems. The conformation and flexibility of linkers and the spatial arrangement of fusion enzymes were studied with simulations, which provides a deep understanding of linkers’ influence and offers insights into the rational design of fusion enzymes.

AB - Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) are key for the selective oxidation of ketones into diverse (cyclic) esters. However, challenges like oxygen and cofactor dependence and substrate/product inhibition hinder their broader application. To address some of these issues, nonconventional media have been applied; still, they lack certain water required for enzyme hydration and cofactor regeneration, reducing activity and/or stability. Fusion approaches enable efficient cofactor recycling by shortening the diffusion distance between enzyme active sites in cascades, especially under low-water conditions. Trial-and-error linker design and time-intensive construction of fusion enzymes substantially slow down the development of fusion enzymes. In this study, we present the work on the fusions of cyclohexanone monooxygenase (CHMO) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) with linkers owing varying lengths and flexibility in both orientations in nonconventional media, focusing on understanding the effects of linkers on the structural and catalytic properties of fusion enzymes. As such, 12 new fusion enzymes were constructed and evaluated regarding the kinetics, specific activity, and stability, identifying the optimal ones for the linear oxyfunctionlization cascade in aqueous–organic biphasic systems. The conformation and flexibility of linkers and the spatial arrangement of fusion enzymes were studied with simulations, which provides a deep understanding of linkers’ influence and offers insights into the rational design of fusion enzymes.

KW - Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases

KW - Biocatalytic cascades

KW - Fusion enzymes

KW - Linker design

KW - Molecular dynamics simulations

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105002226441&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/cctc.202401893

DO - 10.1002/cctc.202401893

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105002226441

VL - 17

JO - CHEMCATCHEM

JF - CHEMCATCHEM

SN - 1867-3880

IS - 9

M1 - e202401893

ER -

By the same author(s)