Stereodirecting substituent effects during enzyme-catalysed synthesis of cis-dihydrodiol metabolites of 1,4-disubstituted benzene substrates

The cis-dihydrodiol enantiomer preferentially formed, by dioxygenase-catalysed oxidation of 1,4-disubstituted benzene substrates in growing cultures of Pseudomonas putida UV4, is found to be largely controlled by the relative size of the substituents.