Biocatalyst expressing cis-naphthalene dihydrodiol dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas fluorescens N3 catalyzes alcohol and 1,2-diol dehydrogenase reactions

Alcohol and carbonyl groups are highly recurrent groups in organic compounds. Their redox equilibrium is often used by chemists to prepare several compounds. Carbonyl reactivity is often used to synthesize more complex structures; in contrast, alcohols are more usually found in the final products because their coordinative ability is fundamental both in biology and in chemistry. Dehydrogenase activities are an interesting alternative to chemical redox reactants because they are often chemo-, regio-, and stereo-selective. We prepared and used an E. coli recombinant strain expressing the naphthalene dihydrodiol dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas fluorescens N3. This biocatalyst showed satisfactory substrate recognition and good reactivity. It can transform primary and secondary alcohols and 1,2-diols. Besides, the geometry recognition is also significant. Finally, we will discuss some unexpected results that we obtained when using 1,2-diols.