On the reaction of D-amino acid oxidase with dioxygen: O2 diffusion pathways and enhancement of reactivity.

Evidence is accumulating that oxygen access in proteins is guided and controlled. We also have recently described channels that might allow access of oxygen to pockets at the active site of the flavoprotein D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) that have a high affinity for dioxygen and are in close proximity to the flavin. With the goal of enhancing the reactivity of DAAO with oxygen, we have performed site-saturation mutagenesis at three positions that flank the putative oxygen channels and high-affinity sites. The most interesting variants at positions 50, 201 and 225 were identified by a screening procedure at low oxygen concentration. The biochemical properties of these variants have been studied and compared with those of wild-type DAAO, with emphasis on the reactivity of the reduced enzyme species with dioxygen. The substitutions at positions 50 and 225 do not enhance this reaction, but mainly affect the protein conformation and stability. However, the T201L variant shows an up to a threefold increase in the rate constant for reaction of O(2) with reduced flavin, together with a fivefold decrease in the K(m) for dioxygen. This effect was not observed when a valine is located at position 201, and is thus attributed to a specific alteration in the micro-environment of one high-affinity site for dioxygen (site B) close to the flavin that plays an important role in the storage of oxygen. The increase in O(2) reactivity observed for T201L DAAO is of great interest for designing new flavoenzymes for biotechnological applications.