Genetic Engineering of Streptomyces coelicolorA3(2) for the Enantioselective Reduction of Unnatural β‐Keto‐Ester Substrates

Potential “reagents”for the enantioselective reduction, and other biotransformations, of β‐keto‐esters result from the genetic engineering of StreptomycescoelicolorA3(2). For example, incubation of the N‐acetylcysteamine thioester 1with the recombinant strain CH999/pIJ5675 followed by treatment with MeOH/HCl gave the lactone 2as essentially a single enantiomer.