Mutant alcohol oxidases and use thereof in the conversion of diols and polyols

The invention relates to the field of enzyme engineering and biocatalysis, in particular to mutated alcohol oxidases (AOXs) and their application in the biocatalytic conversion of diols and polyols. Provided is mutant AOX enzyme having glycerol oxidase activity, said mutant AOX showing at least 50% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of AOX from P. chrysosporium (PcAOX; SEQ ID NO:l), Gloeophyllum trabeum (GtAOX; SEQ ID NO:2), Candida, boidinii (CbAOX; SEQ ID NO:3), Pichia pastoris (PpAOX; SEQ ID NO:4), or Pichia angusta (PaAOX; SEQ ID NO:5), and comprising one or more of the following mutations: (i) the amino acid corresponding to Phe at position 101 of PcAOX is mutated to Gin, Asn, His or Ser; (ii) the amino acid corresponding to Met at position 103 of PcAOX is mutated to Ser, Ala, Gly, Pro or Cys; (iii) the amino acid corresponding to Leu at position 317 of PcAOX is mutated to Val, He, Ala or Met; (iv) the amino acid corresponding to Tyr at position 407 of PcAOX is mutated to Phe, Val, Leu, He or Met; (v) the amino acid corresponding to Trp at position 560 of PcAOX is mutated to Cys, Met, Ala, Val, Leu or Ile