Enhancing catalytic promiscuity for biocatalysis

Abstract

Catalytic promiscuity - the ability of a single active site to catalyse more than one chemical transformation - has a natural role in evolution and occasionally in biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Catalytic promiscuity is more widespread than often recognized. Recent success in adding and enhancing such catalytic activities by protein engineering suggests new potential applications in enzyme-catalyzed organic synthesis.