Patent ID: 7524666

Claim:
An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of: a) a nucleotide sequence coding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, b) a nucleotide sequence which has a sequence homology of at least 95% with a nucleotide sequence coding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, and which encodes a protein having the ability to asymmetrically reduce ethyl 2-oxo-4-phenylbutyrate to produce ethyl (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyrate, c) a nucleotide sequence which hybridizes under a stringent condition to a DNA molecule having a nucleotide sequence coding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, and which encodes a protein having the ability to asymmetrically reduce ethyl 2-oxo-4-phenylbutyrate to produce ethyl (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyrate, wherein the stringent condition comprises a washing step at 65° C. for 30 minutes in 0.1×SSC, and d) the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2.