Nucleic-acid detection via isothermal amplification and collateral cleavage of reporter molecules by CRISPR-associated enzymes is a promising alternative to quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Here, we report the clinical validation of the SHERLOCK (specific high-sensitivity enzymatic reporter unlocking) assay using the enzyme Cas13a from Leptotrichia wadei for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) -the virus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) -in 154 nasopharyngeal and throat swab samples collected at Siriraj Hospital, Thailand. Within a detection limit of 42 RNA copies per

Since the industrial revolution, the rapid growth and development of global industries have depended largely upon the utilization of coal-derived chemicals, and more recently, the utilization of petroleum-based chemicals. These developments have followed a linear economy model (produce, consume, and dispose). As the world is facing a serious threat from the climate change crisis, a more sustainable solution for manufacturing, i.e., circular economy in which waste from the same or different industries can be used as feedstocks or resources for production offers an attractive industrial/business model. In nature, biological systems, i.e., microorganisms routinely use their enzymes and metabolic pathways to convert organic and inorganic wastes to synthesize biochemicals and energy required for their growth. Therefore, an understanding of how selected enzymes convert biobased feedstocks into special (bio)chemicals serves as an important basis from which to build on for applications in biocatalysis, metabolic engineering, and synthetic biology to enable biobased processes that are greener and cleaner for the environment. This review article highlights the current state of knowledge regarding the enzymatic reactions used in converting biobased wastes (lignocellulosic biomass, sugar, phenolic acid, triglyceride, fatty acid, and glycerol) and greenhouse gases (CO 2 and CH 4 ) into value-added products and discusses the current progress made in their metabolic engineering. The commercial aspects and life cycle assessment of products from enzymatic and metabolic engineering are also discussed. Continued development in the field of metabolic engineering would offer diversified solutions which are sustainable and renewable for manufacturing valuable chemicals.

Although flavin-dependent halogenases (FDHs) are attractive biocatalysts, their practical applications are limited because of their low catalytic efficiency. Here, we investigated the reaction mechanisms and structures of tryptophan 6-halogenase (Thal) from Streptomyces albogriseolususing stopped-flow, rapid-quench flow, QM/MM calculations, crystallography and detection of intermediate (hypohalous acid (HOX)) liberation. We found that the key flavin intermediate, C4a-hydroperoxyflavin (C4aOOH-FAD), formed by Thal and other FDHs(tryptophan 7-halogenase (PrnA) and tryptophan 5-halogenase (PyrH)), can react with I-, Br-, and Cl-but not F-, to form C4a-hydroxyflavin and HOX. Our experiments revealed that I-reacts with C4aOOH-FAD the fastest with the lowest energy barrier, and have shown for the first time that a significant amount of the HOX formed leaks out as free HOX.  This leakage is probably a major cause of low product coupling ratios in all FDHs. Site-saturation mutagenesis of Lys79 showed that changing Lys79 to any other amino acid resulted in an inactive enzyme. However, the levels of liberated HOX of these variants are all similar, implying that Lys79 probably does not form a chloramine or bromamine intermediateas previously proposed. Computational calculations revealed that Lys79 has an abnormally lower pKa compared to other Lys residues, implying that the catalytic Lys may act as a proton donor in catalysis. Analysis of new X-ray structures of Thal also explains why pre-mixing of FDHs with FADH- generally results in abolishment of C4aOOH-FAD formation. These findings reveal the hidden factors restricting FDHs capability which should be useful for future development of FDHs applications.

The protonation status of the peroxide moiety in C4a-(hydro)peroxyflavin of p-hydroxyphenylacetate-3-hydroxylase can be directly monitored using transient kinetics. The pKa for the wild-type (WT) enzyme is 9.8 ± 0.2, while the values for the H396N, H396V, and H396A variants are 9.3 ± 0.1, 7.3 ± 0.2, and 7.1 ± 0.2, respectively. The hydroxylation efficiency of these mutants is lower than that of the WT enzyme. Solvent kinetic isotope effect studies indicate that proton transfer is not the rate-limiting step in the formation of C4a-OOH. All data suggest that His396 may act as an instantaneous proton provider for the proton-coupled electron transfer that occurs before the transition state of C4a-OOH formation.

L-Lysine oxidase/monooxygenase (L-LOX/MOG) from Pseudomonas sp. AIU 813 catalyzes the mixed bioconversion of L-amino acids, particularly L-lysine, yielding an amide and carbon dioxide by an oxidative decarboxylation (i.e. apparent monooxygenation), as well as oxidative deamination (hydrolysis of oxidized product), resulting in α-keto acid, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and ammonia. Here, using high-resolution MS and monitoring transient reaction kinetics with stopped-flow spectrophotometry, we identified the products from the reactions of L-lysine and L-ornithine, indicating that besides decarboxylating imino acids (i.e. 5-aminopentanamide from L-lysine), L-LOX/MOG also decarboxylates keto acids (5-aminopentanoic acid from L-lysine and 4-aminobutanoic acid from L-ornithine). The reaction of reduced enzyme and oxygen yielding an imino acid and H2O2, with no detectable C4a-hydroperoxyflavin. Single turnover reactions in which L-LOX/MOG was first reduced by L-lysine to form imino acid before mixing with various compounds revealed that under anaerobic conditions, only hydrolysis products are present. Similar results were obtained upon H2O2 addition after enzyme denaturation. H2O2 addition to active L-LOX/MOG resulted in formation of more 5-aminopentanoic acid, but not 5-aminopentamide, suggesting that H2O2 generated from L-LOX/MOG in situ can result in decarboxylation of the imino acid, yielding an amide product, and extra H2O2 resulted in decarboxylation only of keto acids. Molecular dynamics simulations and detection of charge transfer species suggested that interactions between the substrate and its binding site on L-LOX/MOG are important for imino acid decarboxylation. Structural analysis indicated that the flavoenzyme oxidases catalyzing decarboxylation of an imino acid all share a common plug loop configuration that may facilitate this decarboxylation.

Most of the well‐known enzymes catalyzing esterification require the minimization of water or activated substrates for activity. This work reports a new reaction catalyzed by carboxylic acid reductase (CAR), an enzyme known to transform a broad spectrum of carboxylic acids into aldehydes, with the use of ATP, Mg2+, and NADPH as co‐substrates. When NADPH was replaced by a nucleophilic alcohol, CAR from Mycobacterium marinum can catalyze esterification under aqueous conditions at room temperature. Addition of imidazole, especially at pH 10.0, significantly enhanced ester production. In comparison to other esterification enzymes such as acyltransferase and lipase, CAR gave higher esterification yields in direct esterification under aqueous conditions. The scalability of CAR catalyzed esterification was demonstrated for the synthesis of cinoxate, an active ingredient in sunscreen. The CAR esterification offers a new method for green esterification under high water content conditions.

No abstract

Successful industrial biotechnological solutions to biofuels and other chemicals production relies on effective competition with existing lower cost natural sources and synthetic chemistry approaches enabled by adopting low-cost bioreactors and processes. This is achievable by mobilising Halomonas as a next generation industrial chassis, which can be cultivated under non-sterile conditions. To increase the cost effectiveness of an existing sustainable low carbon bio-propane production strategy, we designed and screened a constitutive promoter library based on the known strong porin promoter from Halomonas. Comparative studies were performed between E. coli and Halomonas using the reporter gene red fluorescent protein. Later studies with a fatty acid photodecarboxylase-RFP fusion protein demonstrated tuneable propane production in Halomonas and E. coli, with an ~8-fold improvement in yield over comparable IPTG-inducible systems. This novel set of promoters are a useful addition to the synthetic biology toolbox for future engineering of Halomonas to make chemicals and fuels.