Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Apr 29;54(16):4021-4032.
doi: 10.1021/ie504071f. Epub 2015 Jan 20.

Engineering Novel and Improved Biocatalysts by Cell Surface Display

Mason R Smith  1 , Eshita Khera  2 , Fei Wen  1
Affiliations

Engineering Novel and Improved Biocatalysts by Cell Surface Display

Mason R Smith et al. Ind Eng Chem Res. .

Abstract

Biocatalysts, especially enzymes, have the ability to catalyze reactions with high product selectivity, utilize a broad range of substrates, and maintain activity at low temperature and pressure. Therefore, they represent a renewable, environmentally friendly alternative to conventional catalysts. Most current industrial-scale chemical production processes using biocatalysts employ soluble enzymes or whole cells expressing intracellular enzymes. Cell surface display systems differ by presenting heterologous enzymes extracellularly, overcoming some of the limitations associated with enzyme purification and substrate transport. Additionally, coupled with directed evolution, cell surface display is a powerful platform for engineering enzymes with enhanced properties. In this review, we will introduce the molecular and cellular principles of cell surface display and discuss how it has been applied to engineer enzymes with improved properties as well as to develop surface-engineered microbes as whole-cell biocatalysts.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of biocatalytic systems ranging in complexity. The pros and cons of each system are summarized.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Timeline depicting the synergistic overlap of biocatalysis evolution and maturation of surface display, as a tool for biocatalyst engineering. The evolution of biocatalysis, detailed in three waves, transitions from the utilization of natural metabolic pathways for the production of natural products (first wave) to the exploitation of natural pathways and enzymes for the generation of non-natural products (second wave) to engineering non-natural pathways for novel product generation (third wave).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overview of the application of cell surface display as a high-throughput screening tool for biocatalyst engineering via directed evolution.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Schmid A, Dordick JS, Hauer B, Kiener A, Wubbolts M, Witholt B. Industrial biocatalysis today and tomorrow. Nature. 2001;409:258–268. - PubMed
    1. Rothenberg G. Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Hoboken, NJ: 2000.
    1. Johannes TW, Simurdiak MR, Zhao H. Biocatalysis. In: Lee S, editor. Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing. Taylor & Francis; New York: 2006. pp. 101–110.
    1. Schoemaker HE, Mink D, Wubbolts MG. Dispelling the myths—biocatalysis in industrial synthesis. Science. 2003;299:1694–1697. - PubMed
    1. Faber K. Biotransformations in Organic Chemistry. Springer-Verlag; Berlin: 2011. pp. 9–10.

LinkOut - more resources