Alkene cleavage by white-rot Trametes hirsuta: Inducing enzyme activity by a fungicide

Alkene cleavage is a widely employed oxidation reaction in organic chemistry. An enzyme preparation of the wood degrading fungus Trametes hirsuta is known to cleave the CC double bond adjacent to an aromatic ring to give the corresponding carbonyl compound at the expense of molecular oxygen as the sole oxidant. Lab-grown fungus cultures displayed varied activity and lost their alkene cleavage activity over generations of growth. t-Anethole, which is the best accepted substrate by the enzyme, is described as a major component of essential oils produced by certain plants with powerful fungicidal property. We could now show that the alkene cleaving activity was improved by the addition of the fungicide t-anethole during culture growth which represented to be an efficient method to produce cells possessing a consistent level of high alkene cleavage activity.