Reductants fuel lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase activity in a pH-dependent manner.

Polysaccharide-degrading mono-copper lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are efficient peroxygenases that require electron donors (reductants) to remain in the active Cu(I) form and to generate the H 2 O 2 co-substrate from molecular oxygen. Here, we show how commonly used reductants affect LPMO catalysis in a pH-dependent manner. Between pH 6.0 and 8.0, reactions with ascorbic acid show little pH-dependency, whereas reactions with gallic acid become much faster at increased pH. These dependencies correlate with the reductant ionization state, which affects its ability to react with molecular oxygen and generate H 2 O 2 . The correlation does not apply to L-cysteine because, as shown by stopped-flow kinetics, increased H 2 O 2 production at higher pH is counteracted by increased binding of L-cysteine to the copper active site. The findings highlight the importance of the choice of reductant and pH in LPMO reactions.