Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology (한국미생물·생명공학회)
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Biotransformation of Flavonoids with O-Methyltransferase from Bacillus cereus

  • Lee Yoon-Jung (Division of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Bio/Molecular Informatics Center, Konkuk University) ;
  • Kim Bong-Gyu (Division of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Bio/Molecular Informatics Center, Konkuk University) ;
  • Park Young-Hee (Division of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Bio/Molecular Informatics Center, Konkuk University) ;
  • Lim Yoong-Ho (Division of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Bio/Molecular Informatics Center, Konkuk University) ;
  • Hur Hor-Gil (Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science & Technology) ;
  • Ahn Joong-Hoon (Division of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Bio/Molecular Informatics Center, Konkuk University)
  • Published : 2006.07.01
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Abstract

O-Methylation is a common modification reaction found in nature, and is mediated by an O-methyltransferase (OMT). OMTs have been mainly studied in plants, whereas only a few OMTs have been studied in microbes. When searching the Bacillus cereus genome, four putative small molecular OMTs were identified, among which BcOMT-1 was cloned and expressed in E. coli as a his-tag fusion protein. The whole cell expressing BcOMT-1 was used to methylate several flavonoids. Eriodictyol, luteolin, quercetin, and taxifolin, all of which contain 3' and 4' hydroxyl groups, served as methyl group acceptors for BcOMT-1, whereas naringenin, apigenin, 3,3'-dihydroxyflavone, and 3,4'-dihydroxyflavone did not function as substrates. Analysis of the reaction products using HPLC showed two different peaks, and NMR revealed that the methylation position was at the hydroxyl group of either carbon 3' or 4'. Therefore, this showed that BcOMT-1 used flavonoids containing ortho hydroxyl groups and transferred a methyl group to either of two hydroxyl groups.

Keywords

References

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