Biocatalytic methane oxidation

Biocatalytic methane oxidation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Biological Sciences - Article Biocatalytic methane oxidation Soo-Jin Yeom, Min-Ju Seo, Yeon-Ju Jeong, Thien-Kim Le, Da-Mi Kim, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4759364/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The direct oxidation of methane to methanol using biocatalysts represents a groundbreaking advancement in effective natural gas utilization and methane valorization. The biological conversion of methane gas to methanol, which can serve as carbon feedstock, presents a significant economic opportunity. In nature, methane monooxygenases (MMOs), in both soluble and particulate forms, selectively oxidize methane to methanol. MMOs exhibit low activity, complexity, and are not readily tractable for recombinant expression in industrial microbial hosts. Achieving high volumetric productivities of methanol from methane requires functionally faster methane-converting enzymes, which has remained a major challenge in the field of methane oxidation. In this study, we report the discovery of the first cytochrome P450 from Caldimonas thermodepolymerans (CtCYP116B, i.e., CYP116B144), which is heterologously and highly expressed in Escherichia coli, and demonstrates the ability to directly convert methane to methanol. CtCYP116B exhibited the highest methane oxidizing activity (total turnover number of 606), surpassing other methane-converting enzymes. Furthermore, multi-enzyme cascade reactions using CtCYP116B, methanol dehydrogenase, and carboligases successfully produced C3−C4 chemicals from methane gas in vitro. The utilization of these functionally heterologously expressed CtCYP116B enzymes provide a powerful approach, serving as a key step in the construction of synthetic methanotrophs with significant biotechnological potential. Biological sciences/Biotechnology/Environmental biotechnology Biological sciences/Biochemistry/Biocatalysis Biological sciences/Biotechnology/Industrial microbiology/Bioremediation Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4759364","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Biological Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":334269305,"identity":"9c2cb040-0ff4-4f51-9de9-4a33b2df47c1","order_by":0,"name":"Soo-Jin 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The biological conversion of methane gas to methanol, which can serve as carbon feedstock, presents a significant economic opportunity. In nature, methane monooxygenases (MMOs), in both soluble and particulate forms, selectively oxidize methane to methanol. MMOs exhibit low activity, complexity, and are not readily tractable for recombinant expression in industrial microbial hosts. Achieving high volumetric productivities of methanol from methane requires functionally faster methane-converting enzymes, which has remained a major challenge in the field of methane oxidation. In this study, we report the discovery of the first cytochrome P450 from Caldimonas thermodepolymerans (CtCYP116B, i.e., CYP116B144), which is heterologously and highly expressed in Escherichia coli, and demonstrates the ability to directly convert methane to methanol. CtCYP116B exhibited the highest methane oxidizing activity (total turnover number of 606), surpassing other methane-converting enzymes. Furthermore, multi-enzyme cascade reactions using CtCYP116B, methanol dehydrogenase, and carboligases successfully produced C3−C4 chemicals from methane gas in vitro. 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