The cytochrome P450 CYP153 family is thought to mediate the terminal hydroxylation reactions of n-alkanes. We isolated 16 new P450 CYP153A genes (central region) from various environments such as petroleum-contaminated soil and groundwater, as well as one from the n-alkane-degrading bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2 (designated P450balk). The sequences of the new P450 genes were extended by PCR to generate full-length chimeric P450 genes, using the N- and C-terminal domains of P450balk. A differential CO-reduced P450 spectral analysis indicated that 8 P450 genes among the 16 chimeric genes were expressed in Escherichia coli to generate a soluble and functional enzyme. The several functional chimeric P450s and P450balk were further fused to the reductase domain of the self-sufficient P450 monooxygenase (P450RhF) at the C-terminus. E. coli cells expressing these self-sufficient P450 chimeric genes converted n-alkanes, cyclohexane, 1-octene, n-butylbenzene, and 4-phenyl-1-butene into 1-alkanols, cyclohexanol, 1,2-epoxyoctane, 1-phenyl-4-butanol, and 2-phenethyl-oxirane, respectively.
