Dearomatisation of o-Xylene by P450BM3 (CYP102A1)

The oxidation of o‐xylene by P450BM3 from Bacillus megaterium yields, in addition to the products formed by microsomal P450s, two metabolites containing an NIH‐shifted methyl group, one of which lacks the aromatic character of the substrate. The failure of the epoxide precursor of these two products to rearrange to the more stable 2,7‐dimethyloxepin suggests that ring opening is P450‐mediated. With m‐xylene, the principal metabolite is 2,4‐dimethylphenol. The partition between aromatic and benzylic hydroxylation is primarily governed by the steric prescriptions of the active site rather than by CH bond reactivity. It is also substrate‐dependent, o‐ and m‐xylene appearing to bind to the enzyme in different orientations. The product distributions given by variants containing the F87A mutation, which creates additional space in the active site, resemble those reported for microsomal systems. Migration of a methyl group leads to the generation of products not formed by microsomal cytochrome P450s in the oxidation of o‐xylene by P450BM3 (CYP102A1), including a dienone (see figure). m‐Xylene gives substantially lower benzylic hydroxylation percentages than o‐xylene. Variants with enlarged active sites give product profiles similar to microsomal P450s with both xylene isomers.