Screening enantioselective epoxide hydrolase activities from marine microorganisms: detection of activities in Erythrobacter spp.

To develop an enantioselective epoxide hydrolase (EHase) from marine microorganisms, marine samples were collected from a variety of marine environments. Strains isolated by the capability of living on styrene oxide (SO) were screened for retaining enantioselective EHase activities toward SO by combining spectrophotometric, GC, and HPLC analysis. Consequently, one strain, JCS358, was selected, and the sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene showed that the strain belonged to Erythrobacter cluster.