Structure-Based Redesign of a Self-Sufficient Flavin-Containing Monooxygenase towards Indigo Production.

ABSTRACT: Indigo is currently produced by a century-old petrochemical-based process, therefore it is highly attractive to develop a more environmentally benign and efficient biotechnological process to produce this timeless dye. Flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs) are able to oxidize a wide variety of substrates. In this paper we show that the bacterial mFMO can be adapted to improve its ability to convert indole into indigo. The improvement was achieved by a combination of computational and structure-inspired enzyme redesign. We showed that the thermostability and the k_cat for indole could be improved 1.5-fold by screening a relatively small number of enzyme mutants. This project not only resulted in an improved biocatalyst but also provided an improved understanding of the st

SUBMITTER: Loncar N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6940849 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature