Microbial screening for the enantiospecific production of alkyl esters of 4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoic acid

This article describes our preliminary screening results of yeasts and fung i isolated from exotic environments like the Atlantic rain forest, from the roots of Araucaria angustifolia and from a Guava tree. Rhodotorula glutini s CCT 2182 and Cunninghamella echinulata CCT 4259 revealed high enantiosele ctive reductase activities for the production of alkyl esters of (R)- and ( S)4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoic acid, respectively. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.