Designing new Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases using restricted CASTing

This paper outlines the design and execution of the first mini-evolution of cyclopentanone monooxygenase (CPMO). The methodology described is a relatively inexpensive and rapid way to obtain mutant enzymes with the desired characteristics. Several successful mutants with enhanced enantioselectivities were identified. For example, mutant-catalyzed oxidation of 4-methoxycyclohexanone gave the corresponding lactone with 92% entantiometric excess (ee) compared to the 46% ee achieved with wild-type cyclohexanone monoxygenase (WT-CHMO). The original design of the mini-evolution and the following evaluation of mutants can provide valuable insights into the active site's construction and dynamics and can suggest other catalytically profitable mutations within the putative active site.