Alkane oxidation by modified hydroxylases

1. An isolated polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 with up to 50 conservative amino acid substitutions excluding residues 47, 52, 74, 78, 82, 94, 142, 175, 184, 188, 205, 226, 236, 252, 255, 290, 328, 353, 366, 464 and 710, wherein if the residue selected from 47, 52, 74, 78, 94, 142, 175, 184, 188, 205, 226, 236, 252, 255, 290, 353, 366, 464 and 710 is substituted the residues have selective substitutions as follows:

(i) at positions selected from the group consisting of 47, 82, 142, 205, 236, 252, 255, and 464 and any combination thereof, 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);

(ii) at positions selected from the group consisting of 52, 94, 175, 184, 188, 290, 353, and 366, an amino acid residue selected from alanine (A), valine (V), leucine (L), isoleucine (I), proline (P), and methionine (M);

(iii) at position 226, an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of lysine (K), and arginine (R);

(iv) at position 78 and 328, an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of alanine (A), tyrosine (Y), phenylalanine (F), tryptophan (W), and histidine (H),

(v) at position 74, an amino acid selected from the group consisting of alanine (A), serine (S), and glutamic acid (E); and

(vi) at position 710 of SEQ ID NO:1 a threonine (T) residue;

and which the polypeptide comprises the following mutation(s):

(a) at position 698 a glycine (G) residue, and/or

(b) at position 443 an alanine (A) residue;

wherein the polypeptide catalyzes the conversion of a (C 1 -C 12 )alkane to an alcohol.

2. The polypeptide of claim 1 , comprising up to 25 amino acid substitutions.

3. The polypeptide of claim 1 , comprising up to 10 amino acid substitutions.

4. The polypeptide of claim 1 , comprising up to 5 amino acid substitutions.

5. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein the alkane is selected from the group consisting of methane (CH 4 ), ethane (C 2 H 6 ), propane (C 3 H 8 ), butane (C 4 H 10 ), pentane (C 5 H 12 ), hexane (C 6 H 14 ), heptane (C 7 H 16 ), octane (C 8 H 18 ), nonane (C 9 H 20 ), decane (C 10 H 22 ), undecane (C 11 H 24 ), and dodecane (C 12 H 26 ).

6. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein the alcohol is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, pentanol, hexanol, heptanol, octanol, nonanol, decanol, undecanol, and dodecanol.

7. The polypeptide of claim 1 , further comprising at position 285 of SEQ ID NO:1 an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of lysine (K), arginine (R), and histidine (H).

8. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at positions 47 and 205 of SEQ ID NO:1 are cysteine (C) residues.

9. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at positions 74, 78, 82, 142 and 255 of SEQ ID NO:1 are serine (S) residues.

10. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at positions 52, 94 and 175 of SEQ ID NO:1 are isoleucine (I) residues.

11. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at position 74 of SEQ ID NO:1 is a glutamic acid (E) residue.

12. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at positions 78 and 328 of SEQ ID NO:1 are phenylalanine (F) residues.

13. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at positions 78 and 328 of SEQ ID NO:1 are phenylalanine (E) residues.

14. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at positions 82, 252 and 464 of SEQ ID NO:1 are glycine (G) residues.

15. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at positions 184, 290, 353 and 366 of SEQ ID NO:1 are valine (V) residues.

16. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at position 188 of SEQ ID NO:1 is a proline (P) residue.

17. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at position 226 of SEQ ID NO:1 is an arginine (R) residue.

18. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at position 235 of SEQ ID NO:1 is a glutamine (Q) residue.

19. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein at positions 78 and 443 of SEQ ID NO:1 are alanine (A) residues.

20. The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein the polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:125.