Carboxyl Methyltransferase Catalysed Formation of Mono‐ and Dimethyl Esters under Aqueous Conditions: Application in Cascade Biocatalysis

Carboxyl methyltransferase (CMT) enzymes catalyse the biomethylation of carboxylic acids under aqueous conditions and have potential for use in synthetic enzyme cascades. Herein we report that FtpM from Aspergillus fumigatus can methylate a broad range aromatic mono- dicarboxylic good to excellent conversions. The shows high regioselectivity on its natural substrate fumaryl-l-tyrosine, trans, trans-muconic acid number tested. Dicarboxylic are generally better substrates than monocarboxylic acids, although some substituents able compensate absence second group. For methylation strong pH dependency with an optimum at 5.5–6. Potential application industrial biotechnology was demonstrated cascade production bioplastics precursor (FDME) bioderived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF).