Use of Genetic Engineering to Produce a Mutated Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Capable of Both Oxidizing and Reductively Dechlorinating Hazardous Organic Chemicals

摘要

The goal of this project is to develop new catalysts and organisms that will be capable of enhancing in situ bioremediation. Our approach is to prepare site-specific mutants of the P450 monooxygenase enzyme P450 102 (BM-3) from the soil bacterium Bacillus megaterium, that possess the ability to catalyze transformations of recalcitrant organic compounds that are hazardous environmental contaminants. In this investigation we focused our effort on designing, producing. Purifying, and studying site-specific mutant of the wild type (nonmutated) P450 102 that can catalyze the oxidation of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs) such as benzoApyrene and mutants that can catalyze the reductive dechlorination of organochlorine compounds such as pentachloroethane.