Purification and characterization of an NADH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase from Candida maris for the synthesis of optically active 1-(pyridyl)ethanol derivatives.

A novel (R)-specific alcohol dehydrogenase (AFPDH) produced by Candida maris IFO10003 was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Toyopearl, and Phenyl-Toyopearl, and characterized. The relative molecular mass of the native enzyme was found to be 59,900 by gel filtration, and that of the subunit was estimated to be 28,900 on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These results suggest that the enzyme is a homodimer. It required NADH as a cofactor and reduced various kinds of carbonyl compounds, including ketones and aldehydes. AFPDH reduced acetylpyridine derivatives, β-keto esters, and some ketone compounds with high enantioselectivity. This is the first report of an NADH-dependent, highly enantioselective (R)-specific alcohol dehydrogenase isolated from a yeast. AFPDH is a very useful enzyme for the preparation of various kinds of chiral alcohols.