Esterases receive special attention because their wide distribution in biological systems and environments and their importance for physiology and chemical synthesis. The prediction of esterases substrate promiscuity level from sequence data and the molecular reasons why certain such enzymes are more promiscuous than others, remain to be elucidated. This limits the surveillance of the sequence space for esterases potentially leading to new versatile biocatalysts and new insights into their role in cellular function. Here we performed an extensive analysis of the substrate spectra of 145 phylogenetically and environmentally diverse microbial esterases, when tested with 96 diverse esters. We determined the primary factors shaping their substrate range by analyzing substrate range patterns in combination with structural analysis and protein-ligand simulations. We found a structural parameter that helps ranking (classifying) promiscuity level of esterases from sequence data at 94% accuracy. This parameter, the active site effective volume, exemplifies the topology of the catalytic environment by measuring the active site cavity volume corrected by the relative solvent accessible surface area (SASA) of the catalytic triad. Sequences encoding esterases with active site effective volumes (cavity volume/SASA) above a threshold show greater substrate spectra, which can be further extended in combination with phylogenetic data. This measure provides also a valuable tool for interrogating substrates capable of being converted. This measure, found to be transferred to phosphatases of the haloalkanoic acid dehalogenase superfamily and possibly other enzymatic systems, represents a powerful tool for low-cost bioprospecting for esterases with broad substrate ranges, in large scale sequence datasets.
        
Title: Lipase-catalyzed enantioselective synthesis of (R,R)-lactide from alkyl lactate to produce PDLA (poly D-lactic acid) and stereocomplex PLA (poly lactic acid) Jeon BW, Lee J, Kim HS, Cho DH, Lee H, Chang R, Kim YH Ref: J Biotechnol, 168:201, 2013 : PubMed
R-lactide, a pivotal monomer for the production of poly (D-lactic acid) (PDLA) or stereocomplex poly (lactic acid) (PLA) was synthesized from alkyl (R)-lactate through a lipase-catalyzed reaction without racemization. From among several types of lipase, only lipase B from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435; CAL-B) was effective in the reaction that synthesized (R,R)-lactide. Enantiopure (R,R)-lactide, which consisted of over 99% enantiomeric excess, was synthesized from methyl (R)-lactate through CAL-B catalysis. Removal of the methanol by-product was critical to obtain a high level of lactide conversion. The (R,R)-lactide yield was 56% in a reaction containing 100 mg of Novozym 435, 10 mM methyl (R)-lactate and 1500 mg of molecular sieve 5A in methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). The important monomer (R,R)-lactide that is required for the production of the widely recognized bio-plastic PDLA and the PLA stereocomplex can be obtained using this novel synthetic method.
        
Title: Lipase-catalyzed oligomerization and hydrolysis of alkyl lactates: direct evidence in the catalysis mechanism that enantioselection is governed by a deacylation step Ohara H, Onogi A, Yamamoto M, Kobayashi S Ref: Biomacromolecules, 11:2008, 2010 : PubMed
Lipase-catalyzed oligomerization of alkyl d- and l-lactate monomers (RDLa and RLLa, respectively) was studied for the first time. It has been found that the oligomerization occurs enantioselectively only for d-lactates to give oligomers up to heptamers of lactic acid (LA) in good to high yields by using primary C1 to C8 alkyl groups and sec-butyl group for d-lactate monomers. No reaction happened for all l-lactates in similar conditions. Lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of alkyl d- and l-lactates was also examined, revealing that the hydrolysis took place for both d- and l-lactates, although l-lactates proceeded a couple of times slower. The hydrolysis results clearly demonstrate that the lipase catalysis mechanism involves an acyl-enzyme intermediate (EM) formation via the acylation step from both d- and l-lactates as a rate-determining step, and the subsequent deacylation step, a nucleophilic attack of water to the EM, takes place to produce free LA. On the other hand, in the oligomerization of d-lactates, the deacylation step, in which a sec-alcohol group of the monomer or of the propagating chain-end attacks to the EM, is only allowed for the sec-d-alcohol group to give a one-LA-unit-elongated oligomer. l-Lactates form the EM; however, the subsequent deacylation reaction with both the sec-l- and sec-d-alcohol groups does not take place, failing in the oligomerization to occur. These results provide with the first direct evidence in the lipase catalysis that the enantioselection is governed by the deacylation step. In the co-oligomerization between l- and d-lactates, the l-isomer retarded the reaction rate of the d-isomer, which was found due to the function of the former as a competitive inhibitor in the acylation step toward the latter.
        
3 lessTitle: Characterization of one novel microbial esterase WDEst9 and its use to make l-methyl lactate Wang Y, Xu S, Li R, Sun A, Zhang Y, Sai K, Hu Y Ref: Biocatalysis and Biotransformation, 37:190, 2019 : PubMed
Chiral lactic acids and their ester derivatives are crucial building blocks and intermediates for the synthesis of a great variety of valuable functional materials and pharmaceuticals. Before our study, the reports about the enantioselective preparation of pure L-lactic acid and its ester derivatives through direct hydrolysis of racemic substrate were quite rare. Herein, we heterologously expressed and functionally characterized one novel microbial esterase WDEst9 from Dactylosporangium aurantiacum, which exhibited high resistance to diverse metal ions, organic solvents, surfactants, NaCl and KCl. We further utilized WDEst9 as a green biocatalyst in the kinetic resolution of (+/-)-methyl lactate through direct hydrolysis and generated L-methyl lactate with high enantiomeric excess (e.e. >99%) and high yield (>86%) after process optimization. Notably, the enantioselectivity of WDEst9 was opposite than that of two previously reported esterases PHE14 and BSE01701 that can generate D-methyl lactate though kinetic resolution of (+/-)-methyl lactate. Microbial esterase WDEst9 is a promising green biocatalyst in the preparation of valuable chiral chemicals and opens the door for the identification of useful industrial enzymes and biocatalysts from the genus Dactylosporangium.
Esterases receive special attention because their wide distribution in biological systems and environments and their importance for physiology and chemical synthesis. The prediction of esterases substrate promiscuity level from sequence data and the molecular reasons why certain such enzymes are more promiscuous than others, remain to be elucidated. This limits the surveillance of the sequence space for esterases potentially leading to new versatile biocatalysts and new insights into their role in cellular function. Here we performed an extensive analysis of the substrate spectra of 145 phylogenetically and environmentally diverse microbial esterases, when tested with 96 diverse esters. We determined the primary factors shaping their substrate range by analyzing substrate range patterns in combination with structural analysis and protein-ligand simulations. We found a structural parameter that helps ranking (classifying) promiscuity level of esterases from sequence data at 94% accuracy. This parameter, the active site effective volume, exemplifies the topology of the catalytic environment by measuring the active site cavity volume corrected by the relative solvent accessible surface area (SASA) of the catalytic triad. Sequences encoding esterases with active site effective volumes (cavity volume/SASA) above a threshold show greater substrate spectra, which can be further extended in combination with phylogenetic data. This measure provides also a valuable tool for interrogating substrates capable of being converted. This measure, found to be transferred to phosphatases of the haloalkanoic acid dehalogenase superfamily and possibly other enzymatic systems, represents a powerful tool for low-cost bioprospecting for esterases with broad substrate ranges, in large scale sequence datasets.
        
Title: Functional Characterization of a Marine Bacillus Esterase and its Utilization in the Stereo-Selective Production of D-Methyl Lactate Huang J, Zhang Y, Hu Y Ref: Appl Biochem Biotechnol, 180:1467, 2016 : PubMed
Chiral lactic acid and its ester derivatives are crucial building blocks and platforms in the generation of high value-added drugs, fine chemicals and functional materials. Optically pure D-lactic acid and its ester derivatives cannot be directly generated from fermentation and are quite expensive. Herein, we identified, heterologously expressed and functionally characterized one Bacillus esterase BSE01701 from the deep sea of the Indian Ocean. Esterase BSE01701 could enzymatically resolve inexpensive racemic methyl lactate and generate chiral D-methyl lactate. The enantiomeric excess of desired chiral D-methyl lactate and the substrate conversion could reach over 99 % and 60 %, respectively, after process optimization. Notably, the addition of 60 % (v/v) organic co-solvent heptane could greatly improve both the enantiomeric excess of D-methyl lactate and the conversion. BSE01701 was a very promising marine microbial esterase in the generation of chiral chemicals in industry.
        
Title: Characterization of a novel marine microbial esterase and its use to make D-methyl lactate Wang Y, Zhang Y, Sun A, Hu Y Ref: Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 37:1396, 2016 : PubMed
A novel marine microbial esterase PHE14 was cloned from the genome of Pseudomonas oryzihabitans HUP022 isolated from the deep sea of the western Pacific Ocean. Esterase PHE14 exhibited very good tolerance to most organic solvents, surfactants and metal ions tested, thus making it a good esterase candidate for organic synthesis that requires an organic solvent, surfactants or metal ions. Esterase PHE14 was utilized as a biocatalyst in the asymmetric synthesis of D-methyl lactate by enzymatic kinetic resolution. D-methyl lactate is a key chiral chemical. Contrary to some previous reports, the addition of an organic solvent and surfactants in the enzymatic reaction did not have a beneficial effect on the kinetic resolution catalyzed by esterase PHE14. Our study is the first report on the preparation of the enantiomerically enriched product D-methyl lactate by enzymatic kinetic resolution. The desired enantiomerically enriched product D-methyl lactate was obtained with a high enantiomeric excess of 99% and yield of 88.7% after process optimization. The deep sea microbial esterase PHE14 is a green biocatalyst with very good potential in asymmetric synthesis in industry and can replace the traditional organic synthesis that causes pollution to the environment
        
Title: Lipase-catalyzed enantioselective synthesis of (R,R)-lactide from alkyl lactate to produce PDLA (poly D-lactic acid) and stereocomplex PLA (poly lactic acid) Jeon BW, Lee J, Kim HS, Cho DH, Lee H, Chang R, Kim YH Ref: J Biotechnol, 168:201, 2013 : PubMed
R-lactide, a pivotal monomer for the production of poly (D-lactic acid) (PDLA) or stereocomplex poly (lactic acid) (PLA) was synthesized from alkyl (R)-lactate through a lipase-catalyzed reaction without racemization. From among several types of lipase, only lipase B from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435; CAL-B) was effective in the reaction that synthesized (R,R)-lactide. Enantiopure (R,R)-lactide, which consisted of over 99% enantiomeric excess, was synthesized from methyl (R)-lactate through CAL-B catalysis. Removal of the methanol by-product was critical to obtain a high level of lactide conversion. The (R,R)-lactide yield was 56% in a reaction containing 100 mg of Novozym 435, 10 mM methyl (R)-lactate and 1500 mg of molecular sieve 5A in methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). The important monomer (R,R)-lactide that is required for the production of the widely recognized bio-plastic PDLA and the PLA stereocomplex can be obtained using this novel synthetic method.
        
Title: Lipase-catalyzed oligomerization and hydrolysis of alkyl lactates: direct evidence in the catalysis mechanism that enantioselection is governed by a deacylation step Ohara H, Onogi A, Yamamoto M, Kobayashi S Ref: Biomacromolecules, 11:2008, 2010 : PubMed
Lipase-catalyzed oligomerization of alkyl d- and l-lactate monomers (RDLa and RLLa, respectively) was studied for the first time. It has been found that the oligomerization occurs enantioselectively only for d-lactates to give oligomers up to heptamers of lactic acid (LA) in good to high yields by using primary C1 to C8 alkyl groups and sec-butyl group for d-lactate monomers. No reaction happened for all l-lactates in similar conditions. Lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of alkyl d- and l-lactates was also examined, revealing that the hydrolysis took place for both d- and l-lactates, although l-lactates proceeded a couple of times slower. The hydrolysis results clearly demonstrate that the lipase catalysis mechanism involves an acyl-enzyme intermediate (EM) formation via the acylation step from both d- and l-lactates as a rate-determining step, and the subsequent deacylation step, a nucleophilic attack of water to the EM, takes place to produce free LA. On the other hand, in the oligomerization of d-lactates, the deacylation step, in which a sec-alcohol group of the monomer or of the propagating chain-end attacks to the EM, is only allowed for the sec-d-alcohol group to give a one-LA-unit-elongated oligomer. l-Lactates form the EM; however, the subsequent deacylation reaction with both the sec-l- and sec-d-alcohol groups does not take place, failing in the oligomerization to occur. These results provide with the first direct evidence in the lipase catalysis that the enantioselection is governed by the deacylation step. In the co-oligomerization between l- and d-lactates, the l-isomer retarded the reaction rate of the d-isomer, which was found due to the function of the former as a competitive inhibitor in the acylation step toward the latter.