Enzyme Detectives Uncover New Reaction Products

Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered a fundamental shift in an enzyme’s function that could possibly widen the possibilities in bioengineering biofuels and other plant based-oil products. According to John Shanklin, the project leader, “placing double bonds in different positions allows you to change the structures of the fatty acids to make products with different potential applications. Their ultimate goal – engineering designer plant oils to be used as biofuels. The Brookhaven team modified a desaturase enzyme by changing three of the 363 amino acids in its protein sequence producing a shift in double-bond position.

Upon further investigation the enzyme modification yielded three completely new products — two variations of a hydroxylated product called an allylic alcohol and a fatty acid containing two double bonds. This work demonstrated that making small changes to the enzyme’s amino acid sequence can facilitate a wide range of chemical potentials. Shanklin added that, engineering designer desaturase-like plant enzymes could tailor-make biofuel feedstocks with optimal properties, instead of relying on the properties of preexisting raw materials.

See the article for more details at: http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/PR_display.asp?prID=810