Patent ID: 7354746

Claim:
A method for producing (4R)-4-(indole-3-ylmethyl)-4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutaric acid (4R-IHOG) of formula (1) or a salt thereof: comprising A) reacting indole-3-pyruvic acid with pyruvic acid or oxaloacetic acid in the presence of an aldolase to produce 4R-IHOG, wherein said aldolase is selected from the group consisting of: (a) a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, (b) a protein that is at least 95% homologous to the amino acid sequence in SEQ ID NO:2 and wherein the protein has 4R-aldolase activity, (d) a protein encoded by a DNA comprising the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, and (e) a protein encoded by a DNA that hybridizes under stringent conditions of 0.1Ã—SSC and 0.1% SDS at 65Â° C. with a DNA having a nucleotide sequence complementary to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 1, and wherein the DNA encodes a protein having 4R-aldolase activity.