Structure, Activity and Stereoselectivity of NADPH-Dependent Oxidoreductases Catalysing the S-Selective Reduction of the Imine Substrate 2-Methylpyrroline

Oxidoreductases from Streptomyces sp. GF3546 [3546-IRED], Bacillus cereus BAG3X2 (BcIRED) and Nocardiopsis halophila (NhIRED) each reduce prochiral 2-methylpyrroline (2MPN) to (S)-2-methylpyrrolidine with >95% ee and also a number of other imine substrates with good selectivity. Structures of BcIRED and NhIRED have helped to identify conserved active site residues within this subgroup of imine reductases that have S selectivity towards 2MPN, including a tyrosine residue that has a possible role in catalysis and superimposes with an aspartate in related enzymes that display R selectivity towards the same substrate. Mutation of this tyrosine residueTyr169in 3546-IRED to Phe resulted in a mutant of negligible activity. The data together provide structural evidence for the location and significance of the Tyr residue in this group of imine reductases, and permit a comparison of the active sites of enzymes that reduce 2MPN with either R or S selectivity.