Kinetic characterization of Rhodococcus ruber DSM 44541 alcohol dehydrogenase A

•The kinetic mechanism of Rhodococcus ruber ADH-A has been fully mapped.•The product inhibition pattern displays pH-dependence.•Conformational changes of enzyme-coenzyme complexes are rate-determining.•Enantioselectivity of ADH-A depends on non-productive binding of the less-preferred substrate.

An increasing interest in biocatalysis and the use of stereoselective alcohol dehydrogenases in synthetic asymmetric catalysis motivates detailed studies of potentially useful enzymes such as alcohol dehydrogenase A (ADH-A) from Rhodococcus ruber. This enzyme is capable of catalyzing enantio-, and regioselective production of phenyl-substituted α-hydroxy ketones (acyloins) which are precursors for the synthesis of a range of biologically active compounds. In this study, we have determined the enzyme activity for a selection of phenyl-substituted vicinal diols and other aryl- or alkyl-substituted alcohols and ketones. In addition, the kinetic mechanism for the oxidation of (R)- and (S)-1-phenylethanol and the reduction of acetophenone has been identified as an Iso Theorell–Chance (hit and run) mechanism with conformational changes of the enzyme-coenzyme binary complexes as rate-determining for the oxidation of (S)-1-phenylethanol and the reduction of acetophenone. The underlying cause of the 270-fold enantiopreference for the (S)-enantiomer of 1-phenylethanol has been attributed to non-productive binding of the R-enantiomer. We have also shown that it is possible to tune the direction of the redox chemistry by adjusting pH with the oxidative reaction being favored at pH values above 7.

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