Investigations into the unprecedented reactions associated with the biosyntheses of hemes

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The project aims to have a major impact on our understanding of how heme and heme-like molecules are made within bacteria. In so doing the research will impinge upon several important priority areas of BBSRC, including antimicrobial resistance and strategic approaches to industrial biotechnology. This is because in the course of our previous research we have discovered that heme, a major life pigment, is synthesized by at least three distinct routes. The research in this application highlights strategies that can be used to underpin the development of novel antimicrobials through the exploitation of these biochemical differences. Moreover, the transformations involved in the biosyntheses of these hemes involve some very novel chemistry, which if redesigned could be applied to industrial biotechnology. In this respect the research programme involves cross-disciplinary technologies, with the potential to permit the translation of basic discoveries into new products and processes through the development of new biocatalytic entities and pathways.Our previous research has demonstrated that heme is not made by a single "classic" pathway, rather it can be made either by an "alternative" or a "transitional" pathway. In particular we wish to look at the role of HemY, a recently identified coproporphyrin synthase, that oxidises coprporphyrinogen through the removal of 6 electrons and 6 protons. We have identified a number of inhibitors of this enzyme through specific searches of chemical libraries, but to enhance their development we need to know more about the action of the enzyme. Similarly, two separate enzymes have been identified that convert Fe-coproporphyrin into heme through the decarboxylation of propionic acid side chains into vinyl groups. Such chemistry is, of course, very significant in biotechnology for the conversion of fatty acids into alkenes and thus redesigning these enzyme for fatty acid substrates would have significant industrial relevance. However, to achieve this we must first understand the molecular processes that drive substrate recognition, specificity and catalytic mechanism. The final part of the research is tailored towards an understanding of d1 heme synthesis, where we have make huge progress in delineating the various steps at the molecular level. Of particular interest is the reaction of NirN, which is able to catalyse the introduction of a double bond into one of the propionate side chains within the confines of the periplasm and without the assistance of any flavin or nicotinamide cofactors. Again such chemistry would be of broad interest to the biotechnology sector, especially as a potentially cheap way of reducing alkanes for high-value and platform chemicals. To achieve this long-term goal again we need to determine the precise nature of the reaction and then redesign the system to allow it to be used in other contexts.Overall, the research addresses basic biochemical questions concerning the biosynthesis of important metabolites within the cell by painting a molecular portrait of events at the molecular level. In so doing it will provide a neodarwinistic understanding of the evolution ofcomplex biosynthetic pathways. It will also help maintain the UK at the cutting edge of biomolecular science research and maintain the position our groups have as world leaders in this field.