Design of novel enzyme biocatalysts for industrial bioprocess: Harnessing the power of protein engineering, high throughput screening and synthetic biology

Aravind Madhavan^a,1, K.B.Arun^a,1, Parameswaran Binod^b, Ranjna Sirohi^c, Ayon Tarafdar^d, R.Reshmy^e, Mukesh Kumar Awasthi^f Raveendran Sindhu^b

Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Trivandrum 695 014, India.

Abstract

Biocatalysts have wider applications in various industries. Biocatalysts are generating bigger attention among researchers due to their unique catalytic properties like activity, specificity and stability. However the industrial use of many enzymes is hindered by low catalytic efficiency and stability during industrial processes. Properties of enzymes can be altered by protein engineering. Protein engineers are increasingly study the structure–function characteristics, engineering attributes, design of computational tools for enzyme engineering, and functional screening processes to improve the design and applications of enzymes. The potent and innovative techniques of enzyme engineering deliver outstanding opportunities for tailoring industrially important enzymes for the versatile production of biochemicals. An overview of the current trends in enzyme engineering is explored with important representative examples.

Keywords: Biocatalyst, Mutagenesis, Directed evolution, Synthetic biology, Fusion enzyme.