Kaneka Corporation

Kanegafuchi Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Shigeru Kawano

Yoshihiko Yasohara

Junzo Hasegawa

Kenji Miyamoto

Noriyuki Ito

Noriyuki Kizaki

Masutoshi Nojiri

Akiko Nishi

Yasuyoshi Ueda

Shinichi Yoshida

Tozo Nishiyama

Satohiro Yanagisawa

Akio Fujii

Hiroyuki Kanamaru

Katsuji Maehara

Shunichi Taira

Keita Iguchi

Toyokazu Yoshida

Miho Horikawa

Shohei Yamamoto

Toru Nagasawa

Masakatsu Nishihachijyo

Takeru Ishige

Kouichi Ishida

Makoto Yamaguchi

Misato Matsui

Masakatsu Nishihachijo

Rie Tanaka

An object of the present invention is to modify a wild-type enzyme that is less reactive in the presence of an organic solvent to provide altered carbonyl reductases having better reactivity in the presence of the organic solvent than the wild-type enzyme, and/or to provide transformants producing such reductases. The present inventors have found altered carbonyl reductases having better reactivity in the presence of an organic solvent than the wild-type enzyme, from among a mutant enzyme library prepared by randomly mutating the wild-type enzyme gene, thereby arriving at completion of the present invention.

Modified carbonyl reducing enzyme and gene

The invention relates to a glucose dehydrogenase showing an NADP/NAD activity ratio, namely the value obtained by dividing the enzyme activity value obtained by using NADP as a coenzyme by the enzyme activity value obtained by using NAD as a coenzyme, of not lower than 300, to a gene coding therefor, and to a transformant harboring that gene. The enzyme of the invention is very high in NADP specificity and can be suitably used, for example, for NADPH production, for coenzyme regeneration in enzymatic reduction reactions, and in biosensors for glucose concentration measurements.

Vector containing a DNA coding for a novel glucose dehydrogenase and method

An object of the present invention is to provide a means for producing an optically active tropic acid that is a compound useful as a synthetic raw material or an intermediate for pharmaceutical products and the like. The present invention provides a novel polypeptide having activity to (R)-selectively hydrolyze a racemic tropic acid amide, DNA encoding the polypeptide, a vector containing the DNA, a transformant prepared by transformation with the vector, and a method for producing an optically active carboxylic acid amide and an optically active carboxylic acid using them.

Vector, a transformant and a method to produce a polypeptide having activity to selectively hydrolyze a (R)-tropic acid amide in a racemic mixture

A method for inexpensively and efficiently producing an optically active amino compound useful as an intermediate for pharmaceutical preparations, agricultural chemicals, or the like, from a ketone compound is provided. Specifically, a polypeptide exhibiting higher activity for glutamic acid as an amino donor than that for L-alanine, and, having novel transaminase activity for generating (S)-1-benzyl-3-pyrrolidinone with high optical purity of 93% or more, a gene encoding the same, and a transformant expressing the gene at a high level are also provided herein.

Nucleic acid encoding a polpeptide having aminotransferase activity, vectors and host cells comprising the nucleic acid

A method for efficiently producing an optically active amino compound useful as an intermediate for pharmaceutical preparations, agricultural chemicals, or the like, from a ketone compound is provided. Specifically, a polypeptide having high resistance to a water-soluble organic solvent and novel transaminase activity for generating (S)-1-benzyl-3-pyrrolidinone with high optical purity of 93% or more, a gene encoding the same, and a transformant expressing the gene at a high level are also provided herein.

Nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide having aminotransferase activity, vectors and host cells comprising the nucleic acid

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for converting the coenzyme dependency of enzymes of the medium-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (MDR) family. A further object of the present invention is to provide enzyme variants of the MDR family whose coenzyme dependency is converted by the conversion method and a method for enzymatically producing optically active alcohols using the enzymes. The present inventors developed a novel enzyme conversion method for converting the coenzyme dependency of enzymes of the MDR family, rationally designed enzyme variants that are altered by the enzyme conversion method to be able to use NADPH as a coenzyme from a useful enzyme of the MDR family that uses NADH as a coenzyme, and actually provide variants having such an ability.

Enzyme function modification method and enzyme variant thereof

DNA coding for a novel glucose dehydrogenase

Provided is a method for efficiently producing from a ketone compound an optically active amino compound useful as an intermediate of a drug, an agricultural chemical, or the like. Provided are: a polypeptide having aminotransferase activity that is increased in stereoselectivity, heat resistance, and resistance to amine compounds compared to the wild type enzyme by means of modifying an aminotransferase derived from; a gene encoding the polypeptide; and a transformant that expresses the gene at a high level.

Modified aminotransferase, gene thereof, and method for producing optically active amino compound using same

The present invention provides a low-cost, efficient method for producing a glycolipid biosurfactant, in particular, lactonic sophorose lipids. This method is characterized by culturing a microorganism capable of producing the biosurfactant under limited oxygen supply. The present invention enables preferential production of lactonic sophorose lipids and facilitates recovery of the lactonic sophorose lipids in a solid form. Further, the present invention enables production of high purity acidic sophorose lipids by hydrolyzing high purity lactonic sophorose lipids produced by the above method. The present invention also provides lactonic sophorose lipids that possess strong antibacterial and antifungal activities, and an antibacterial and/or antifungal agent containing the sophorose lipids.

Method for producing sophorose lipid

The present invention relates to a method for producing an optically-active amine compound. The method is characterized by using a transaminase (A), an &#x3b1;-keto acid reductase (B), and an enzyme (C), each having specific properties, in an identical reaction system to convert a ketone compound into a corresponding optically-active amine compound in which a carbon atom with an amino group bonded thereto serves as an asymmetric point. The present invention also relates to a recombinant vector for use in the method. The present invention makes it possible to efficiently produce an optically-active amine compound.

Method for producing optically-active amine compound, recombinant vector, and transformant containing the vector

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel alcohol dehydrogenase, a gene for the alcohol dehydrogenase, a vector including the gene, a transformant transformed with the vector, and a method for producing an optically active alcohol by utilizing them. A feature of the present invention directs to a novel polypeptide isolated from, a DNA coding for the polypeptide, and a transformant producing the polypeptide. Another feature of the present invention directs to a method for producing an optically-active alcohol by reducing a carbonyl compound with the polypeptide or the transformant.

Gene suitable for alcohol dehydrogenase, vector and transformant

The present invention relates to a method of producing an optically active pyridineethanol derivative. More particularly, it relates to a method of producing an optically active polycyclic pyridineethanol derivative by causing an enzyme or enzyme source to act on polycyclic acetylpyridine derivatives. The present invention also relates to a novel enzyme which can be used in the production method mentioned above, a DNA coding for said enzyme, a recombinant vector having said DNA, and a transformant having said recombinant vector. The invention further relates to a method of producing an optically active polycyclic pyridineethanol derivative by causing the above novel enzyme or the above transformant to act on optically inactive polycyclic pyridineethanol derivatives.

Enzyme for producing optically active pyridineethanol derivatives

The present invention provides a method for preparing optically active 3-hydroxypentanenitrile with high yield. Optically active 3-hydroxypentanenitrile is prepared by stereoselectively reducing 3-ketopentanenitrile by action of an enzyme, which asymmetrically reduces 3-ketopentanenitrile to optically active 3-hydroxypentanenitrile. Also, alkali metal salt of 3-ketopentanenitrile, which is a stable compound without problems regarding storage, can be efficiently obtained.

Process for production of optically active 3-hydroxypentanenitrile

Method for purifying and isolating (2s,3s)- or (2r,3s)-halohydrin derivatives

Novel and useful optical active 2-aralkyl-3-sulfonyloxy-1-propanol and 2-aralkyl-3-sulfonyloxypropionic acid are provided by using an optical active 2-aralkyl-3-acyloxy-1-propanol as a starting material. Furthermore, an optical active 2-aralkyl-3-thiopropionic acid, which is an important intermediate of enkephalinase inhibitor, is provided. According to the present invention, industrially useful optical active sulfonic acid ester derivatives can be provided.

Growing community of inventors

Takasago, Japan

Shigeru Kawano