The soluble methane monooxygenase receives electrons from NADH via its reductase MmoC for oxidation of methane, which is itself an attractive C1 building block for a future bioeconomy. Herein, we present biochemical and spectroscopic insights into the reductase from the marine methanotroph Methylomonas methanica MC09. The presence of a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and [2Fe2S] cluster as its prosthetic group were revealed by reconstitution experiments, iron determination and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. As a true halotolerant enzyme, MmoC still showed 50 % of its specific activity at 2 M NaCl. We show that MmoC produces only trace amounts of superoxide, but mainly hydrogen peroxide during uncoupled turnover reactions. The characterization of a highly active reductase is an important step for future biotechnological applications of a halotolerant sMMO.

Methane is a widespread energy source and can serve as an attractive C1 building block for a future bioeconomy. The soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) is able to break the strong C−H bond of methane and convert it to methanol. The high structural complexity, multiplex cofactors, and unfamiliar folding or maturation procedures of sMMO have hampered the heterologous production and thus biotechnological applications. Here, we demonstrate the heterologous production of active sMMO from the marine Methylomonas methanica MC09 in Escherichia coli by co‐synthesizing the GroES/EL chaperonin. Iron determination, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and native gel immunoblots revealed the incorporation of the non‐heme diiron centre and homodimer formation of active sMMO. The production of recombinant sMMO will enable the expansion of the possibilities of detailed studies, allowing for a variety of novel biotechnological applications.