P450 fatty acid decarboxylase
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Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
Published on: May 22, 2016
Yuanyuan Jiang1, Shengying Li1
1State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, P.R. China.
Abstract:
P450 fatty acid decarboxylases are able to utilize hydrogen peroxide as the sole cofactor to decarboxylate free fatty acids to produce α-olefins with abundant applications as drop-in biofuels and important chemical precursors. In this chapter, we review diverse approaches for discovery, characterization, engineering, and applications of P450 fatty acid decarboxylases. Information gained from structural data has been advancing our understandings of the unique mechanisms underlying alkene production, and providing important insights for exploring new activities. To build an efficient olefin-producing system, various engineering strategies have been proposed and applied to this unusual P450 catalytic system. Furthermore, we highlight a select number of applied examples of P450 fatty acid decarboxylases in enzyme cascades and metabolic engineering.
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