Stereospecific dihydroxylation of the styrene vinyl group by purified naphthalene dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIB 9816-4.

Naphthalene dioxygenase (NDO) from Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIB 9816-4 adds both atoms of the dioxygen molecule to styrene to form (R)-l-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol. Product formation is tightly coupled to dioxygen consumption and NADH oxidation. NDO oxidizes styrene-d8 at almost the same initial rate as styrene. The results indicate that dioxygen activation by NDO is different from that by cytochrome P-450 and other monooxygenases, which oxidize styrene to styrene 1,2-oxide.