Properties and mechanistic aspects of newly found redox enzymes from anaerobes suitable for bioconversions on preparatory scale

Abstract

Anaerobes or facultative anaerobic bacteria show interesting new types of reversible carbon-hydrogen bond forming enzymes in high activi-ties which are often not NAD(P)(H) dependent. Their substrate specificity is very broad and nevertheless, their stereoselectivity very high. Some properties and results with enoate reductase, viologen accepting 2-hydroxycarboxylate-oxidoreductase (HVOR), and aldehyde oxidoreductase, reducing non-activated carboxylic acids to aldehydes, will be described. Due to the rather ubiquitous occurrence of viologen accepting pyridine nucleotide oxidoreductases (VAPOR) also yeasts can be used for reductions in electrochemical cells with efficiencies much higher than with carbohydrates. © 1992, IUPAC