Synthetic Amylase

Why do we have to change natural amylase? For millennia it has fulfilled its requirements in an opitmal way. However, this is only partly true. Actually, evolution has perfectly prepared the enzyme to break down starch into short-chain carbohydrates in the cells of each organism. Modern industry, however, is interested in gaining high profits by keeping expenditures as low as possible. Therefore, it is especially important to perfectly adapt production processes in order to produce goods as efficiently as possible. If, for example, a Gyle can be heated up at a lower temperature as usual, a brewery could operate more economically.

This is where synthetic biology comes into play. The tools made available by synthetic biology make it possible to optimize enzymes used for the production of bio-fuels in a way that they perform at lower temperatures as well as standard enzymes at very high temperatures. Even whole production steps can be omitted if the new enzyme makes it possible to carry out two steps simultaneously. These are only two examples of many which make the advantages of sythetic enzymes in modern technology imaginable.

Such improvements not only help companies to lower expenditures but also saves primary energy and, consequently, preserves the environment.

All life forms, from bacteria to plants and human beings, use the same 20 amino acids for protein biosynthesis (see figure 2). Scientists, however, are aware of over 700 different amino acids, which are able to create new proteins but are not used in nature

In our project we tried to change or improve the enzyme amylase through the implementation of non-canon amino acids.

We decided to replace the amino acid methionin in the primary structure of the amylase by using the two non-canonical amino acids ethionine and norleucine. In 1959 the Japanese researcher Yoshida described in

his paper the successful implementation of ethionin in the metabolism of basillus subtilis. At this time Mr Yoshida only wanted to pioneer research in the field of protein biosynthesis – he did not even think of optimizing proteins. We assumed, however, that his method could also work with the amino acid norleucine.

We would like to prove, that the blueprint of enzymes can be manipulated through the implementation of so-called synthetic amino acids and, thusly, to have the chance to create new enzymes.

Text adapted by Andreas Kreuzeder