Isolation of a Rhodotourula mucilaginosa strain capable of transforming quinuclidinone into (R)-3-quinuclidinol and optimization of the transforming reaction conditions

Abstract:

(R)-3-Quinuclidinol is an important chiral building block for the synthesis of a variety of pharmaceutical. A strain which is able to transforming quinuclidinone into reductase (R)-3-Quinuclid inol was isolated from soil by using quinuclidinone as sole carbon sourse in the screening medium. The physiological and bio-chemical identification and 18S DNA sequense analysis revealed that this strain belongs to Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and was named as R. mucilaginosa X15. The present results indicated that the optimal conditions for the transforming reaction with resting cells of R. mucilaginosa X15 were 3-quinuclidinone 10 g/L, pH 7.5, 30 °C and 72 h reaction time. (R)-3-Quinuclidinol is obtained with an yeild of 90% and with an optical purity of 88% enantiometric excess (ee) from a 100 mL reaction mixture.