Structure Elucidation and Biochemical Characterization of Environmentally Relevant Novel Extradiol Dioxygenases Discovered by a Functional Metagenomics Approach

Abstract

The disposal and degradation of xenobiotic compounds have been serious issues due to their recalcitrant properties. Microbial oxygenases are the fundamental enzymes involved in biodegradation that oxidize the substrate by transferring oxygen from molecular oxygen. Among oxygenases, catechol dioxygenases are more versatile in biodegradation and are well studied among the bacterial world. The use of catechol dioxygenases in the field is currently not practical due to their aerobically unstable nature. The significance of our research lies in the discovery of aerobically stable and halotolerant catechol dioxygenases that are efficient in degrading the targeted environmental pollutants and, hence, could be used as cost-effective alternatives for the treatment of hypersaline industrial effluents. Moreover, the structural determination of novel catechol dioxygenases would greatly enhance our knowledge of the function of these enzymes and facilitate directed evolution to further enhance or engineer desired properties.