Methods of Obtaining Optically Active Epoxides and Vicinal Diols from Styrene Oxides

A process for obtaining an optically active epoxide or an optically active vicinal diol, which process includes the steps of:

• providing an enantiomeric mixture of a styrene epoxide;
• creating a reaction mixture by adding to the enantiomeric mixture a cell comprising a nucleic acid encoding, and capable of expressing, a polypeptide having enantioselective styrene epoxide hydrolase activity;
• incubating the reaction mixture;
• and
• recovering from the reaction mixture:
• (a) an enantiopure, or a substantially enantiopure, phenylethanediol;
• (b) an enantiopure, or a substantially enantiopure, styrene epoxide;
• or (c) an enantiopure, or a substantially enantiopure, phenylethanediol and an enantiopure, or a substantially enantiopure, styrene epoxide.

A method for producing a polypeptide, which process includes the steps of:

• providing a cell comprising a nucleic acid encoding and capable of expressing a polypeptide that has enantioselective styrene epoxide hydrolase activity;
• culturing the cell;
• and
• recovering the polypeptide from the culture.

An isolated DNA comprising:

• (a) a nucleic acid sequence that encodes a polypeptide that has enantioselective styrene epoxide hydrolase activity and that hybridizes under highly stringent conditions to the complement of a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:
• 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10;
• or
• (b) the complement of the nucleic acid sequence.

An isolated DNA comprising:

• (a) a nucleic acid sequence that is at least 55% identical to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:
• 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10;
• or
• (b) the complement of the nucleic acid sequence,
• wherein the nucleic acid sequence encodes a polypeptide that has enantioselective styrene epoxide hydrolase activity.

An isolated DNA comprising:

• (a) a nucleic acid sequence that encodes a polypeptide consisting of an amino acid sequence that is at least 55% identical to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:
• 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5;
• or
• (b) the complement of the nucleic acid sequence,
• wherein the polypeptide has enantioselective styrene epoxide hydrolase activity.