A mutant R70V/E166A of short manganese peroxidase showing Mn²⁺-independent dye decolorization

Il-MnP1, a short-type manganese peroxidase from Irpex lacteus F17, can oxidize some substrates in the absence of Mn²⁺, but the catalysis was much lower than in the presence of Mn²⁺. Here, we report a mutant R70V/E166A of Il-MnP1 with some unique properties, which possessed clearly higher catalysis for the decolorization of anthraquinone and azo dyes in the absence of Mn²⁺ than that of Il-MnP1. Importantly, the optimum pH of R70V/E166A for decolorization of anthraquinone dyes (Reactive Blue 19, RB19) was 6.5, and the mutant achieved high decolorization activities in the range of pH 4.0-7.0, whereas Il-MnP1 only showed decolorization for RB19 at pH 3.5-4.0. In addition, the optimum H₂O₂ concentration of R70V/E166A for RB19 decolorization was eight times that of Il-MnP1 and the H₂O₂ stability has improved 1.4 times compared with Il-MnP1. Furthermore, Mn²⁺ competitively inhibited the oxidation of RB19 by R70V/E166A, explaining the higher catalytic activity of the mutant R70V/E166A in the absence of Mn²⁺. Molecular docking results suggested that RB19 binds to the distal side of the heme plane in mutant R70V/E166A, which extended from the heme δ-side to the heme γ-side, and close to the mutated residues of R70V and E166A, whereas RB19 could not access the heme pocket of Il-MnP1 due to the steric hindrance of the side-chain group of Arg 70. Thus, this study constructed a useful mutant R70V/E166A and analyzed its higher Mn²⁺-independent activity, which is very important for better understanding the Mn²⁺-independent catalytic mechanism for short manganese peroxidases. KEY POINTS: • The mutant R70V/E166A of atypical MnP1 of I. lacteus F17 shows unique catalytic properties. • At pH 6.5, the R70V/E166A had a strong ability to decolorize anthraquinone dyes in the absence of Mn²⁺. • The binding sites of Reactive Blue 19 in mutant R70V/E166A were elucidated.