Evaluation of different halogenases for production of halogenated phenazines in E. coli

• Grant number: 23/10338-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: September 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Adilson José da Silva
• Grantee: João Pedro Nardachione Teso
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Phenazines are secondary metabolites of some bacteria and archaea that have great structural diversity and high redox potential, making them valuable molecules for use in dyes, pharmaceuticals, biopesticides, and even batteries and other electrochemical devices. Their heterologous production in E. coli cells allows the production of different phenazines through the expression of genes capable of adding atoms or functional groups to these molecules. In this sense, the present project proposes the expression of different halogenases in a recombinant strain of E. coli producing 1-hydroxyphenazine to evaluate the possibility of producing halogenated phenazines in a natural way. For this purpose, we will clone and express halogenases capable of acting on aromatic substrates, and the transformed cells will be cultured in the presence of chlorine, bromine and iodine salts. In this way, we will investigate the possibility of the production of phenazines that do not yet occur naturally and also expand the range of substrates for which the halogenases under investigation have affinity. In addition, it is expected that halogenated phenazines will have a different electronic distribution due to the high electronegativity of the halogen atoms, altering the redox properties of the molecule. Thus, in future work it will be possible to extend the studies on the use of phenazines in electrochemical devices, as well as to evaluate the biological activity of the new phenazines.