Evolution-guided engineering of trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthases. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38513027/)

These scientists studied giant enzymes called bacterial multimodular polyketide synthases (PKSs) that make important natural products. They wanted to find a way to change these enzymes to make new products that could be used as medicine.

They looked at how the building blocks of these enzymes, called amino acids, work together. By studying this, they found a special spot on the enzyme that can be changed to make it work differently.

The scientists then used this information to make changes to the enzyme and create 22 new versions of it. They tested these new enzymes in different bacteria and found that most of them worked well in making new products.

This study shows that by understanding how these enzymes work, scientists can make changes to them to create new and useful substances.

Mabesoone MFJ., Leopold-Messer S., Minas HA., Chepkirui C., Chawengrum P., Reiter S., Meoded RA., Wolf S., Genz F., Magnus N., Piechulla B., Walker AS., Piel J. Evolution-guided engineering of trans-acyltransferase polyketide synthases. Science. 2024 Mar 22;383(6689):1312-1317. doi: 10.1126/science.adj7621. Epub 2024 Mar 21.