Method for producing optically-active amine compound, recombinant vector, and transformant containing the vector

1. A method for producing an optically-active amine compound in a reaction system comprising at least three enzymes and a ketone compound, wherein said enzymes are:

(A) a transaminase which uses an α-amino acid as an amino-group donor and which acts on the ketone compound to convert the ketone compound into the optically-active amine compound, and to convert the α-amino acid into an α-keto acid;

(B) an α-keto acid reductase, which uses a reduced β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) or a reduced β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) as a coenzyme and which reduces, to an α-hydroxy acid, the α-keto acid produced from reaction with the transaminase of (A) and which does not act on the ketone compound; and

(C) an enzyme that converts oxidized β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) produced from the NADH resulting from action of the α-keto acid reductase of (B) to NADH, or that converts oxidized β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+) produced from the NADPH resulting from the action of the α-keto acid reductase (B) into NADPH;

to convert the ketone compound into a corresponding optically-active amine compound in which a carbon atom with an amino group bonded thereto serves as an asymmetric point.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the enzymes are:

(A) a transaminase which uses α-alanine as an amino-group donor and which acts on the ketone compound to convert the ketone compound into a corresponding optically-active amine compound in which a carbon atom with an amino group bonded thereto serves as an asymmetric point;

(B) an α-keto acid reductase which uses a reduced β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) as a coenzyme and which reduces pyruvic acid produced from the α-alanine through action of the transaminase (A) to a lactic acid, and which does not act on the ketone compound; and

(C) an enzyme that converts oxidized β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) produced from the NADH through action of the α-keto acid reductase (B) into NADH.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the enzyme source is a transformant obtained by introducing DNA molecules respectively coding for the enzymes (A) to (C), and/or a product of culture thereof.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the enzyme source is a transformant obtained by transforming a host cell with either a plurality of recombinant vectors separately containing and expressing DNA molecules respectively coding for the enzymes (A) to (C) or with a single recombinant vector containing and expressing all the DNA molecules respectively coding for the enzymes (A) to (C) and/or a product of culture thereof.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the enzyme (B) is a lactate dehydrogenase and the enzyme (C) is a glucose dehydrogenase or a formate dehydrogenase.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the enzyme (B) is an enzyme derived from a microorganism belonging to Pediococcus acidilactici .

7. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the enzyme (C) is an enzyme derived from a microorganism belonging to Bacillus megaterium or Thiobacillus sp.

8. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the transaminase (A) is an enzyme derived from a microorganism belonging to the genus Pseudomonas or the genus Arthrobacter .

9. The method as set forth in claim 8 , wherein the transaminase (A) is an enzyme derived from Pseudomonas fluorescens strain KNK08-18 (FERM BP-10599), Pseudomonas sp, strain KNK425 (FERM BP-6525), or Arthrobacter sp, strain KNK168 (FERM BP-5228).

10. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the transaminase (A) is a polypeptide as set forth in any one of (a) or (b):

(a) a polypeptide as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 25;

(b) a polypeptide having at least 85% homology with SEQ ID NO: 25 of the Sequence Listing.

11. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the transaminase (A) is a polypeptide coded for by a polynucleotide as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 26.

12. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the ketone compound is represented by general formula (1)

where R1 and R2 are each a substitutable alkyl group, a substitutable aralkyl group, or a substitutable aryl group, or are different in structure but bonded to each other to form a ring, and the corresponding optically-active amino compound is represented by general formula (2)

where R1 and R2 are as defined in general formula (1) and the mark * indicates an asymmetric carbon atom.