Directed Evolution of a Nonheme Diiron N-oxygenase AzoC for Improving Its Catalytic Efficiency toward Nitrogen Heterocycle Substrates

The azoxy compounds with an intriguing chemical bond [-N=N(+)(-O(−))-] are known to have broad applications in many industries. Our previous work revealed that a nonheme diiron N-oxygenase AzoC catalyzed the oxidization of amino-group to its nitroso analogue in the formation of azoxy bond in azoxymycins biosynthesis. However, except for the reported pyridine alkaloid azoxy compounds, most azoxy bonds of nitrogen heterocycles have not been biosynthesized so far, and the substrate scope of AzoC is limited to p-aminobenzene-type compounds. Therefore, it is very meaningful to use AzoC to realize the biosynthesis of azoxy nitrogen heterocycles compounds. In this work, we further studied the catalytic potential of AzoC toward nitrogen heterocycle substrates including 5-aminopyrimidine and 5-aminopyridine compounds to form new azoxy compounds through directed evolution. We constructed a double mutant L101I/Q104R via molecular engineering with improved catalytic efficiency toward 2-methoxypyrimidin-5-amine. These mutations also proved to be beneficial for N-oxygenation of methyl 5-aminopyrimidine-2-carboxylate. The structural analysis showed that relatively shorter distance between the substrate and the diiron center and amino acid residues of the active center may be responsible for the improvement of catalytic efficiency in L101I/Q104R. Our results provide a molecular basis for broadening the AzoC catalytic activity and its application in the biosynthesis of azoxy six-membered nitrogen catenation compounds.