Alkane oxidation by modified hydroxylases

1. An isolated or recombinant polypeptide comprising residues 456-1048 of the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 with up to 65 conservative amino acid substitutions excluding residues 464, 631, 645, 710 and 968, wherein the amino acid sequence comprises residues selected from the group consisting of:

(a) at position 464, a Z1, Z3, Z4, or Z5 amino acid residue;

(b) at positions 631 and 710, a Z1 amino acid residue;

(c) at position 645, a Z3 amino acid residue; and

(d) at position 968, a Z2 amino acid residue,

wherein: Z1 is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of glycine (G), asparagine (N), glutamine (Q), serine(S), threonine (T), tyrosine (Y), and cysteine (C); Z2 is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of alanine (A), valine (V), leucine (L), isoleucine (I), proline (P), and methionine (M); Z3 is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of lysine (K), and arginine (R); Z4 is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of tyrosine (Y), phenylalanine (F), tryptophan (W), and histidine (H); and is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of threonine (T), valine (V), and isoleucine (I), wherein when the isolated or recombinant polypeptide is operably linked to the heme domain of a cytochrome P450 enzyme to form a chimeric polypeptide the chimeric polypeptide has cytochrome P450 activity.

2. The polypeptide of claim 1 , comprising up to 40 conservative amino acid substitutions excluding residues 464, 631, 645, 710 and 968 of SEQ ID NO: 1.

3. The polypeptide of claim 1 , comprising up to 25 conservative amino acid substitutions excluding residues 464, 631, 645, 710 and 968 of SEQ ID NO: 1.

4. The polypeptide of claim 1 , comprising up to 10 conservative amino acid substitutions excluding residues 464, 631, 645, 710 and 968 of SEQ ID NO: 1.

5. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein the amino acid sequence comprises residues selected from the group consisting of:

(a) at position 464, a glycine (G), arginine (R), tyrosine (Y), or threonine (T) amino acid residue;

(b) at position 631, an asparagine (N) amino acid residue;

(c) at position 645, an arginine (R) amino acid residue;

(d) at position 710, a threonine (T) amino acid residue; and

(e) at position 968, a lysine (L) amino acid residue.

6. The polypeptide of claim 1 , comprising up to 50 conservative amino acid substitutions excluding residues 464, 631, 645, 710 and 968 of SEQ ID NO:1.

7. A chimeric polypeptide comprising the isolated or recombinant polypeptide of claim 1 , operably linked to a heme catalytic domain, wherein the chimeric polypeptide has cytochrome P450 activity.

8. The chimeric polypeptide of claim 7 , wherein the heme catalytic domain is from a species different than the isolated or recombinant polypeptide.