Catalytic Determinants of Alkene Production by the Cytochrome P450 Peroxygenase OleT.

The sp. peroxygenase cytochrome P450 OleT (CYP152L1) is a hydrogen peroxide-driven oxidase that catalyzes oxidative decarboxylation of fatty acids, producing terminal alkenes with applications as fine chemicals and biofuels. Understanding mechanisms that favor decarboxylation over fatty acid hydroxylation in OleT could enable protein engineering to improve catalysis or to introduce decarboxylation activity into P450s with different substrate preferences.