[Increasing activity of a monoamine oxidase by random mutation]

The monoamine oxidase mutant A-1 (F210V/L213C) from Aspergillus niger showed some catalytic activity on mexiletine. To futher improve its activity, the mutant was subjected to directed evolution with MegaWHOP PCR (Megaprimer PCR of Whole Plasmid) and selection employing a high-throughput agar plate-based colorimetric screen. This approach led to the identification of a mutant ep-1, which specific activity was 189% of that for A-1. The ep-1 also showed significantly improved enantioselectivity, with the E value increased from 101 to 282; its kinetic k(cat)/K(m) value increased from 0.001 51 mmol/(L x s) to 0.002 89 mmol/(L x s), suggesting that catalytic efficiency of ep-1 had been improved. The mutant showed obviously higher specific activities on 7 of all tested 11 amines substrates, and the others were comparable. Sequence analysis revealed that there was a new mutation T162A on ep-1. The molecular dynamics simulation indicated that T162A may affect the secondary structure of the substrate channel and expand the binding pocket.