Heterologous Expression of Novel Cytochrome P450 Hydroxylase Genes from Sebekia benihana

Actinomycetes are ubiquitous Gram-positive soil bacteria and a group of the most important industrial microorganisms for the biosynthesis of many valuable secondary metabolites as well as the source of various bioconversion enzymes. Cytochrome P450 hydroxylase (CYP), a hemebinding protein, is known to be involved in the modification of various natural compounds, including polyketides, fatty acids, steroids, and some aromatic compounds. Previously, six different novel CYP genes were isolated from a rare actinomycetes called Sebekia benihana, and they were completely sequenced, revealing significant amino acid similarities to previously known CYP genes involved in Streptomyces secondary metabolism. In the present study, these six CYP genes were functionally expressed in Streptomyces lividans, using an $ermE^{*}$ promoter-containing Streptomyces expression vector. Among six CYP genes, two S. benihana CYP genes (CYP503 and CYP504) showed strong hydroxylation activities toward 7-ethoxycoumarin. Furthermore, the recombinant S. lividans containing both the S. benihana CYP506-ferredoxin genes as well as the S. coelicolor feredoxin reductase gene also demonstrated cyclosporin A hydroxylation activity, suggesting potential application of actinomycetes CYPs for the biocatalysts of natural product bioconversion.