Engineering of Metabolic Pathways by Artificial Enzyme Channels

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology and biochemical engineering
• Enzyme catalysis and engineering
• Systems and Synthetic Biology

Background:

• Industrial enzymes are crucial for producing valuable chemicals, with Systems and Synthetic Biology driving innovation.
• Both in vivo (living cells) and in vitro (cell-free) systems enable the conversion of simple to complex compounds.
• Challenges in in vitro systems include limited enzyme stability and low substrate conversion rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review enzyme supramolecular organization in natural systems.
• To summarize current and future strategies for designing artificial metabolic channels using additive manufacturing.
• To highlight efficient production of desired chemical products via engineered enzyme systems.

Main Methods:

• Discussing the principles of metabolic engineering for balancing cellular processes (gene expression, translation, scaffolding, compartmentation, flux control).
• Exploring protein post-translational modifications and artificial channel formation to enhance enzyme stability and catalytic activity.
• Investigating additive manufacturing techniques for constructing artificial metabolic channels.

Main Results:

• Enzymes naturally organize in supramolecular structures within living systems.
• Artificial metabolic channels can be designed to overcome limitations of in vitro enzymatic processes.
• Engineered enzyme systems show potential for significantly improving the efficiency of chemical production.

Conclusions:

• Advances in Systems and Synthetic Biology are revolutionizing industrial enzyme applications.
• Artificial metabolic channels represent a promising approach for overcoming in vitro enzyme limitations.
• Additive manufacturing offers novel avenues for creating efficient biocatalytic systems for chemical synthesis.