Alkane oxidation by modified hydroxylases

A polynucleotide that encodes a polypeptide that catalyzes the conversion of a (C1-C12)alkane to an alcohol,

• wherein the polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide has one or more selective amino acid substitutions at residues 47, 52, 74, 78, 82, 94, 142, 175, 184, 188, 205, 226, 236, 252, 255, 290, 328, 353, 366, 443, 464, and 710 in comparison to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, and wherein the one or more selective amino acid substitutions are as follows:
• (i) at positions selected from the group consisting of 47, 52, 82, 142, 205, 236, 252, 255, and 464 and any combination thereof, an amino acid residue selected from glycine (G), asparagine (N), glutamine (Q), serine (S), threonine (T), tyrosine (Y), and cysteine (C);
• (ii) at positions selected from the group consisting of 94, 175, 184, 188, 290, 353, a and 366 or any combination thereof, an amino acid residue selected from alanine (A), valine (V), leucine (L), isoleucine (I), proline (P), and methionine (M);
• (iii) at position 226, an amino acid selected from lysine (K) and arginine (R);
• (iv) at positions 78 and 328, an amino acid selected from alanine (A), tyrosine (Y), phenylalanine (F), tryptophan (W) and histidine (H);
• (v) at position 74, an amino acid selected from alanine (A), serine (S), and glutamic acid (E);
• (vi) at position 443 an alanine (A) residue;
• and
• (vii) at position 710 a threonine (T).