Designing and evolving ultra-stable enzymes for improved nutrition and reduced environmental damage

酶是一种大分子蛋白质，是化学反应的生物催化剂，对维持生命至关重要。人类已经认识到并利用了酶对食品和农业的效用，从而产生了今天的生物技术部门。目前的工业酶市场价值超过50亿美元，反映了酶作为生物催化剂的可取性。酶在它们催化的反应中具有高度的特异性，高效，可生物降解，并在自然界中大量存在。尽管有这样的潜力，但由于其固有的不稳定性，许多酶在其自然存在的状态下不适合工业应用，这限制了它们承受工业过程的能力。多年来，人们已经测试了许多不同的方法来稳定酶，以更好地利用其催化潜力，并取得了不同的成功，但所有的方法都不是没有陷阱。其中一种方法是由豪沃斯实验室开发的SpyRing Cycle。为了它的成功，我希望在这个DPhil项目中与AB Vista合作开发一个通用的酶稳定平台，对各种酶有效。优先领域：工业生物技术和生物能源

Enzymes are macromolecular proteins that serve as biological catalysts of chemical reaction and are critical in maintaining life. Humans have acknowledged and exploited the utility of enzymes for food and agriculture, giving rise to the biotechnology sector of today. The current industrial enzyme market is valued at over $5 billion, and reflects the desirability of enzymes as biocatalysts. Enzymes are highly specific in the reactions they catalyse, highly efficient, biodegradable, and found in abundance in nature. Despite such potential, many enzymes are unfit in their naturally occurring state for industrial applications due to their inherent instability, which limits their ability to withstand industrial processes. Over the years, many different approaches have been tested to stabilise enzymes to better exploit their catalytic potential with varying success, but all approaches have not been without pitfalls. One such approach has been SpyRing cyclisation, developed by the Howarth laboratory. Working on its success, I hope to develop a generic platform for enzyme stabilisation effective for a diverse range of enzymes in this DPhil project in conjunction with AB Vista. Priority area: Industrial Biotechnology and BioenergyBfH, ENWW