By Andi Anderson
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have achieved an important scientific breakthrough by engineering an enzyme capable of performing a chemical reaction that rarely occurs in nature. The innovation could help scientists develop valuable agricultural and medical products more efficiently in the future.
Enzymes are natural catalysts found in living cells. They help speed up chemical reactions and are widely used in manufacturing because they work with high accuracy under mild conditions. However, naturally occurring enzymes can only perform a limited range of chemical reactions, which restricts their industrial applications.
To overcome this challenge, a research team led by Huimin Zhao (BSD Leader/CAMBERS/CGD/MMG), the study’s corresponding author and CABBI Conversion Theme Lead, modified an existing enzyme to perform entirely new chemistry. Their findings were published in the journal Science and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI).
“Nature has evolved enzymes to carry out an enormous number of chemical reactions, but it doesn’t necessarily give us the enzymes we need to make the products we want,” said Huimin Zhao (BSD Leader/CAMBERS/CGD/MMG), the study’s corresponding author and CABBI Conversion Theme Lead. “Our work shows that we can engineer an existing enzyme to perform new chemistry and use that chemistry to make a commercially important product.”
One of the most challenging reactions in chemistry is the formation of carbon-phosphorus bonds, which are essential components of many medicines and agricultural products. Enzymes that can naturally create these bonds are extremely rare, making production difficult and often dependent on complex chemical methods.
The Illinois researchers combined enzyme catalysis, photocatalysis, directed evolution, and machine learning to redesign an enzyme capable of forming these valuable bonds.
After testing more than 100 enzyme variations, they identified modifications that significantly improved performance. The resulting enzyme uses oxygen to help connect carbon and phosphorus atoms with remarkable precision.
To demonstrate its practical value, the team used the engineered enzyme to produce L-glufosinate, the active ingredient in a widely used broad-spectrum herbicide. The process delivered highly precise results and successfully addressed a longstanding manufacturing challenge.
The researchers also tested the enzyme on various other materials and were able to create multiple phosphorus-containing compounds with similar accuracy. This suggests that the technology could have applications far beyond a single product.
“Our repurposed enzymes represent a new-to-nature class of enzymes and potentially have many applications,” said Zhao. “We will further optimize and scale up the synthesis process of L-glufosinate and extend the same enzyme engineering strategy to other types of chemical reactions of both scientific significance and practical importance.”
The study was conducted by Yi Zhou, Yifei Ge, Wesley Harrison, and Huimin Zhao at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Scientists believe this breakthrough could expand the use of engineered enzymes in agriculture, medicine, and other industries, creating more sustainable and efficient ways to manufacture important chemical products.
Photo Credit: istock-pkujiahe
Categories: Illinois, Education, Sustainable Agriculture