Research Highlights

Prof. dr. Marco Fraaije

There is a high demand for robust biocatalysts that can be used for developing new biotechnological processes. Recently, methods have been developed to depolymerize lignin in plant biomass. This will enable to use lignin-derived phenols for the synthesis of valuable compounds. A major depolymerisation product is 4-propylguaiacol; a compound unknown for applications and as natural metabolite. By using the enzyme eugenol oxidase – active on a similar substrate, eugenol – we set out to engineer this flavin-containing enzyme towards a thermostable oxidase that is efficient in converting 4-propylguaiacol into isoeugenol. By combining the use of an in-house developed computational protocol (FRESCO) to predict mutations that render the template enzyme more thermostable with structure-guided active site redesign, we have succeeded in creating a robust 4-propylguaiacol oxidase[1].

[1] Guo Y, Alvigini L, […], Fraaije MW (2022) Structure- and computational-aided engineering of an oxidase to produce isoeugenol from a lignin-derived compound. Nature Communications 13, 7195.