Characterization of an O-Methyltransferase from Streptomyces avermitilis MA-4680

A search of the Streptomyces avermitilis genome reveals that its closest homologs are several O-methyltransferases. Among them, one gene (viz., saomt5) was cloned into the pET-15b expression vector by polymerase chain reaction using sequence-specific oligonucleotide primers. Biochemical characterization with the recombinant protein showed that SaOMT5 was S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent Omethyltransferase. Several compounds were tested as substrates of SaOMT5. As a result, SaOMT5 catalyzed O-methylation of flavonoids such as 6,7-dihydroxyflavone, 2',3'-dihydroxyflavone, 3',4'-dihydroxyflavone, quercetin, and 7,8-dihydroxyflavone, and phenolic compounds such as caffeic acid and caffeoyl Co-A. These reaction products were analyzed by TLC, HPLC, LC/MS, and NMR spectroscopy. In addition, SaOMT5 could convert phenolic compounds containing ortho-dihydroxy groups into O-methylated compounds, and 6,7-dihydroxyflavone was known to be the best substrate. SaOMT5 converted 6,7-dihydroxyflavone into 6-hydroxy-7-methoxyflavone and 7-hydroxy-6-methoxyflavone, and caffeic acid into ferulic acid and isoferulic acid, respectively. Moreover, SaOMT5 turned out to be a $Mg^{2+}$-dependent OMT, and the effect of $Mg^{2+}$ ion on its activity was five times greater than those of $Ca^{2+}$, $Fe^{2+}$, and $Cu^{2+}$ ions, EDTA, and metal-free medium.