A High-Throughput Method for Directed Evolution of NAD(P)+‑Dependent Dehydrogenases for the Reduction of Biomimetic Nicotinamide Analogues

Engineering flavin-free NAD­(P)+-dependent dehydrogenases to reduce biomimetic nicotinamide analogues (mNAD+s) is of importance for eliminating the need for costly NAD­(P)+ in coenzyme regeneration systems. Current redox dye-based screening methods for engineering the mNAD+ specificity of dehydrogenases are frequently encumbered by a background signal from endogenous NAD­(P) and intracellular reducing compounds, making the detection of low mNAD+-based activities a limiting factor for directed evolution. Here, we develop a high-throughput screening method, NAD­(P)-eliminated solid-phase assay (NESPA), which can reliably identify mNAD+-active mutants of dehydrogenases with a minimal background signal. This method involves (1) heat lysis of colonies to permeabilize the cell membrane, (2) colony transfer onto filter paper, (3) washing to remove endogenous NAD­(P) and reducing compounds, (4) enzyme-coupled assay for mNADH-dependent color production, and (5) digital imaging of colonies to identify mNAD+-active mutants. This method was used to improve the activity of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase on nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN+). The best mutant obtained after six rounds of directed evolution exhibits a 50-fold enhancement in catalytic efficiency (k cat/K M) and a specific activity of 17.7 U/mg on NMN+, which is comparable to the wild-type enzyme on its natural coenzyme, NADP+. The engineered dehydrogenase was then used to construct an NMNH regeneration system to drive an ene-reductase catalysis. A comparable level of turnover frequency and product yield was observed using the engineered system relative to NADPH regeneration by using the wild-type dehydrogenase. NESPA provides a simple and accurate readout of mNAD+-based activities and the screening at high-throughput levels (approximately tens of thousands per round), thus opening up an avenue for the evolution of dehydrogenases with specific activities on mNAD+s similar to the levels of natural enzyme/coenzyme pairs.