Stereospecific lysis of a range of β-hydroxy-α-amino acids catalysed by a novel aldolase from Streptomyces amakusaensis

Cell-free preparations of Streptomyces amakusaensis contain a novel aldolase which catalyses the conversion of β-hydroxy-α-amino acids (as 2) into the corresponding aldehyde plus glycine; the aldolase is stable, shows broad substrate tolerance, is highly selective for threo stereochemistry and, where examined, is Stereospecific for the (2S,3R) configuration.