This lecture will cover our recent achievements in the discovery, protein engineering and application of enzymes in biocatalysis [1].
For the conversion of complex polysaccharides from marine algae, we have discovered a new class of P450 monooxygenases from marine bacteria, which play a central role in the demethylation of porphyran [2]. Furthermore, we identified the entire degradation pathway of the complex algal carbohydrate ulvan involving >13 different enzymes from marine bacteria [3] and we could show that Bacillus licheniformis can grow on these ulvan hydrolysates [4].
For the recycling of plastics, we have initially studied PET and created different improved esterases [5]. Recently, we established a protocol enabling a fair comparison of different PETases reported in literature [6]. Moreover, we have identified the first three urethanases in a metagenomic library able to depolymerize polyurethanes [7]. We determined their X-rays structures and improved them by enzyme engineering [8]. We also established enzyme cascade reactions to degrade poly(vinylalcohols) [9] and more recently also the challenging polyethylene [10].
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