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Updated: Oct 13, 2025

A Web Tool for Generating High Quality Machine-readable Biological Pathways
Published on: February 8, 2017
Workflows for optimization of enzyme cascades and whole cell catalysis based on enzyme kinetic characterization and
Laura Kuschmierz1, Lu Shen1, Christopher Bräsen1
1Molecular Enzyme Technology and Biochemistry (MEB), Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology (EMB), Centre for Water and Environmental Research (CWE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstraße 5, 45141, Essen, Germany.
Abstract:
To move towards a circular bioeconomy, sustainable strategies for the utilization of renewable, non-food biomass wastes such as lignocellulose, are needed. To this end, an efficient bioconversion of d-xylose - after d-glucose the most abundant sugar in lignocellulose - is highly desirable. Most standard organisms used in biotechnology are limited in metabolising d-xylose, and also in vitro enzymatic strategies for its conversion have not been very successful. We herein discuss that bioconversion of d-xylose is mostly hampered by missing knowledge on the kinetic properties of the enzymes involved in its metabolism. We propose a combination of classical enzyme characterizations and mathematical modelling approaches as a workflow for rational, model-based design to optimize enzyme cascades and/or whole cell biocatalysts for efficient d-xylose metabolism.
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