AIkB, the integral membrane diiron alkane monooxgenase from Pseudomonas putida (formerly Pseudomonas oleovorans GPol) and the related enzyme xylene monooxygenase (which hydroxylates the methyl group of xylene) (XylM) are among the least well characterized diiron hydroxylases. AIkB is found in numerous bacteria, including many pathogen c genera. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Legionella pneumophilia, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa all have genes that code for proteins with high homology to AIkB. This AREA grant explores the hypothesis that active site structure affects the mechanisms by which diiron hydroxylases oxidize alkanes. Specifically, it tests the hypothesis that the presence of the softer nitrogen donors found in the active sites of AIkB and XylM alters the reactivity of the active intermediate of these enzymes relative to the reactivity of the active intermediate of sMMO and T4MOH, which contain oxygen rich coordination environments for their diiron centers. It also tests the hypothesis that hydrophobic substrate molecules in the active site may alter the reactivity of AIkB. These hypotheses are tested by stabilizing active purified membrane-spanning diiron non-heme enzymes, characterizing their hydroxylation mechanisms using a suite of diagnostic substrates and comparing their mechanisms to the mechanism of hydroxylation of a non-heme diiron biomimetic model, using the same suite of diagnostic substrates. The training of a post-doctoral associate and undergraduate researchers figures prominently in the projects aims.
