Protein engineering boosts monooxygenase activity

A team of researchers at the University of Connecticut identified a number of novel monooxygenase enzymes that act on some aromatic compounds. The enzyme, a toluene 4-monoxygenase that oxidizes nitrobenzene to 4-nitrocatechol was identified from Pseudomonas mendocina KR1. Nitrocatechol-producing mutants were discovered by screening 550 colonies from a random mutagenesis library on agar plates containing nitrobenzene.