Fontimonas thermophila Alkane Monooxygenase (FtAlkB) Is an Alkyl Fluoride Dehalogenase

  • J Am Chem Soc. 2025 Mar 19;147(11):9085-9090. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5c00386.
Lauren Hendricks  1 ,  Clorice R Reinhardt  2 ,  Tierani Green  1 ,  Lily Kunczynski  1 ,  August Jaunzarins Roberts  1 ,  Naomi Miller  1 ,  Noga Rafalin  1 ,  Heather J Kulik  2  3 ,  John T Groves  4 ,  Rachel N Austin  1
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Chemistry, Barnard College of Columbia University, 3009 Broadway, New York, New York 10027, United States.
  • 2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
  • 3. Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
  • 4. Department of Chemistry, Frick Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States.
PMID: 40052925 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c00386
Abstract

Purified alkane monooxygenase (AlkB) from Fontimonas thermophila (FtAlkB) catalyzes the defluorination of 1-fluorooctane, producing octanal, which is partially reduced under the reaction conditions to generate 1-octanol. This reaction occurs preferentially at the monofluorinated methyl group, with only a minor amount of oxidation at the nonfluorinated end of the molecule. The dehalogenation chemistry is specific to 1-fluorooctane, as neither 1-chlorooctane or 1-bromooctane are dehalogenated to an appreciable extent. Furthermore, P. putida cells containing the structurally related AlkB (PpAlkB) along with the full set of genes required for alkane metabolism, utilize 1-fluorooctane as their sole source of carbon with growth rates comparable to those for cells grown with octane.

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