Unnatural Amino Acid Synthesis by Thermostable O-Phospho-l-serine Sulfhydrylase from Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1

O-Acetyl-l-serine sulfhydrylase (OASS) from plants and bacteria synthesizes cysteine and unnatural amino acids that are important building blocks for active pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. A thermostable O-phospho-l-serine sulfhydrylase from hyperthermophilic archaeon Aeropyrum pernix K1 (OPSSAp) exhibits a function similar to OASS. In the present study, we examined the synthesis of various unnatural amino acids using OPSSAp and demonstrated OPSSAp could efficiently synthesize various sulfur-containing amino acids. OPSSAp would be useful for industrial production of biologically important unnatural amino acids.