A Non-conventional Archaeal Fluorinase Identified by in silico Mining for Enhanced Fluorine Biocatalysis
Authors
Pardo, I., Bednar, D., Calero, P., Volke, D. C., Damborsky, J., Nikel, P. I.
Source
ACS CATALYSIS 12: 6570–6577 (2022)
Abstract
Fluorinases, the only enzymes known to catalyze the transfer of fluorine to an organic molecule, are essential catalysts for the biological synthesis of valuable organofluorines. However, the few fluorinases identified so far have low turnover rates that hamper biotechnological applications. Here, we isolated and characterized putative fluorinases retrieved from systematic in silico mining and identified a non-conventional archaeal enzyme from Methanosaeta sp. that mediates the fastest SN2 fluorination rate reported to date. Furthermore, we demonstrate enhanced production of fluoronucleotides in vivo in a bacterial host engineered with this archaeal fluorinase, paving the way towards synthetic metabolism for efficient biohalogenation.