Publication in Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Liskova V, Stepankova V, Bednar D, Brezovsky J, Prokop Z, Chaloupkova R, Damborsky J, 2017: Different Structural Origins of the Enantioselectivity of Haloalkane Dehalogenases toward Linear β-Haloalkanes: Open–Solvated versus Occluded–Desolvated Active Sites. Angewandte Chemie International Edition (in press, doi:10.1002/anie.201611193). full text

Two recipes for success: Two distinct mechanisms are described for the enantiodiscrimination of 2-bromopentane by haloalkane dehalogenases. Highly enantioselective DbjA has a very open, solvent-accessible active site. The engineered enzyme DhaA31 has a more occluded and less solvated cavity (see picture) but shows similar enantioselectivity as a result of steric hindrance imposed by two specific residues, rather than hydration as in DbjA.