Bacterial stigmasterol degradation involving radical flavin delta-24 desaturase and molybdenum-dependent C26 hydroxylase

Sterols are ubiquitous membrane constituents that persist to a large extent in the environment due to their water insolubility and chemical inertness. Recently, an oxygenase-independent sterol degradation pathway was discovered in a cholesterol-grown denitrifying bacterium Sterolibacterium (S.) denitrificans. It achieves hydroxylation of the unactivated primary C26 of the isoprenoid side chain to an allylic alcohol via a phosphorylated intermediate in a four-step ATP-dependent enzyme cascade. However, this pathway is incompatible with the degradation of widely distributed steroids containing a double bond at C22 in the isoprenoid side chain such as the plant sterol stigmasterol. Here, we have enriched a prototypical delta-24 desaturase from S. denitrificans, which catalyses the electron acceptor-dependent oxidation of the intermediate stigmast-1,4-diene-3-one (SDO) to a conjugated (22, 24)-diene. We suggest an α4β4 architecture of the 440 kDa enzyme, with each subunit covalently binding an FMN cofactor to a histidyl residue. As isolated, both flavins are present as red semiquinone radicals, which can be reduced by SDO but cannot be oxidized even with strong oxidising agents. We propose a mechanism involving an allylic radical intermediate in which two flavin semiquinones each abstract one hydrogen atom from the substrate. The conjugated delta-22,24 moiety formed allows for the subsequent hydroxylation of the terminal C26 with water by a heterologously produced molybdenum-dependent steroid C26 dehydrogenase 2 (S26DH2). In conclusion, the pathway elucidated for delta-22 steroids achieves oxygen-independent hydroxylation of the isoprenoid side chain by bypassing the ATP-dependent formation of a phosphorylated intermediate.