The continuous flow synthesis of a series of amines was successfully achieved by exploiting the enhanced stability and broad substrate scope of an immobilised transaminase from Halomonas elongata (HEWT).

Chiral amines are indispensable building blocks in the production of biologically active compounds. They are fundamental for the pharmaceutical industry, both as active molecules themselves and as chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric synthesis; however, the available synthetic strategies often present disadvantages. ω-Transaminases (ω-TAs) appear as an attractive alternative by driving the stereoselective amination of prochiral ketones. HEWT is a novel amine transaminase from the moderate halophilic bacterium, Halomonas elongata DSM 2581, which is highly (S)-selective, being able to fully convert (S)-1-phenylethylamine to acetophenone and showing no activity with the corresponding (R)-1-phenylethylamine. HEWT has a broad substrate scope, active with a range of amino donors and acceptors, and naturally accepts isopropylamine (IPA) as amino donor in asymmetric synthesis providing a 41% conversion of pyruvate in 24 h at 37 °C starting with 1:1 molar ratio between the reagents. HEWT also accepts ortho-xylylenediamine as amino donor in for amine synthesis, in particular, with benzaldehyde yielding high conversions between 90 and 95%. The enzyme is also tolerant to the presence of cosolvents up to 20% making it a promising candidate for industrial applications

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of Salmonella enterica serotype Newport have been described for many years. However, the recognition of Newport strains with resistance to cephalosporin antibiotics is more recent. Plasmid-mediated CMY-2 AmpC ␤-lactamases have been identified in Salmonella in the United States, and the bla CMY-2 gene has been shown to be present in Salmonella serotype Newport. This organism is currently undergoing epidemic spread in both animals and humans in the United States, and this is to our knowledge the first description of the molecular epidemiology of this Salmonella strain in animals. Forty-two isolates were included in this study. All isolates were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, plasmid analysis, and antibiogram. Four pulsed-field profiles with XbaI were observed. Plasmid analyses showed that although the majority of isolates harbored a single plasmid of 140 kb, this plasmid was not identical in all strains. All isolates showed the presence of the bla CMY gene by PCR. Integrons were detected in 16 of the 42 isolates; a fragment of approximately 1,000 bp, amplified with the intI-F and aadAI-R primers, confirmed the presence of the aadAI gene cassette within an integron in these 16 isolates. The potential for coselection of the bla CMY gene, if located on an MDR replicon, may not be dependent on any particular antibiotic but rather may be the result of more general antimicrobial use. If this replicon is mobile, it is to be expected that similar MDR strains of additional Salmonella serotypes will be recognized in due course.

Haloarchaeal alcohol dehydrogenases are exciting biocatalysts with potential industrial applications. In this study, two alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes from the extremely halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii (HvADH1 and HvADH2) were homologously expressed and subsequently purified by immobilized metal-affinity chromatography. The proteins appeared to copurify with endogenous alcohol dehydrogenases, and a double Δadh2 Δadh1 gene deletion strain was constructed to prevent this occurrence. Purified HvADH1 and HvADH2 were compared in terms of stability and enzymatic activity over a range of pH values, salt concentrations, and temperatures. Both enzymes were haloalkaliphilic and thermoactive for the oxidative reaction and catalyzed the reductive reaction at a slightly acidic pH. While the NAD(+)-dependent HvADH1 showed a preference for short-chain alcohols and was inherently unstable, HvADH2 exhibited dual cofactor specificity, accepted a broad range of substrates, and, with respect to HvADH1, was remarkably stable. Furthermore, HvADH2 exhibited tolerance to organic solvents. HvADH2 therefore displays much greater potential as an industrially useful biocatalyst than HvADH1.

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