Volume 5 Issue 8, August 2022

Constraining metabolic models by enzyme capacities greatly improves genotype–phenotype predictions. Now, a method for estimating enzyme turnovers based on deep learning has been developed and used to reconstruct enzyme-constrained genome-scale metabolic models for more than 300 yeast species.

Neil M. Schweitzer, Robert M. Rioux and Rajamani Gounder are the organisers of a series of workshops on rigour and reproducibility (R&R) in heterogeneous thermal catalysis. Here, they share with Nature Catalysis their views on this cornerstone of science and discuss opportunities to cultivate best practice.

Comprehensive information on enzyme catalytic rates is essential to understand the metabolism of cells, but only a small fraction has been determined experimentally. Now, a deep learning model is developed to predict k_cat values of metabolic enzymes on a large scale using substrate SMILES and protein sequence information.

Enzymes for poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) deconstruction are of interest for plastics recycling, but reports on their directed evolution are missing. Now, an automated, high-throughput directed evolution platform is described, affording HotPETase that effectively achieves depolymerization above the glass transition temperature of PET.

His-C2-directed modification is chemically challenging and rarely occurs in nature due to the low reactivity of this position. Now, the prenlytransferase LimF has been discovered and applied for geranylation of histidine-containing peptides and imidazole-containing small molecules, showcasing the versatility of this biocatalyst.

Despite the potential of nanostructures as crop protection agents, antiviral pesticides remain essentially based on organic molecules. Now, the antiviral activity of chiral copper sulfide nanoparticles is demonstrated for the light-mediated inactivation of tobacco mosaic virus via selective protease-like hydrolysis.

Cyclotelomerization of isoprene can lead to many isomers and controlling the selectivity in this reaction has been challenging for chemical methods. Now, Ni-catalysed nucleophilic cyclotelomerization of isoprene with heterocycles provides cyclic monoterpene derivatives with high selectivity.

Seeking high efficiency in the valorization of biomass-derived feedstocks is a great challenge. Now, a linear paired electrochemical valorization of glycerol to mainly C₃ oxidation products is achieved in both compartments by combining the electro-Fenton process at a NiSe₂ cathode and the direct oxidation of glycerol at a Pt anode.

Eukaryotic cytochrome P450s (P450s) are often required for the biosynthesis of natural products, but their performance in bacteria is usually reduced. Now, scaffold enzymes bring eukaryotic P450s and a reductase in close proximity for efficient electron channelling, increasing the production of natural products in Escherichia coli.

CO can be reduced electrocatalytically on Cu-based electrodes to acetate and ethanol; however, formation of mixed product streams creates a separation issue. Here, a selective anode for ethanol partial oxidation and an anion exchange membrane with high ethanol permeability are incorporated into an electrolyser to generate pure acetate (>99%) at high concentration (up to 7.6 M).