Exploring redox enzymes for optimized biomass conversion

Efficient depolymerization of biomass is fundamental for the use of non-fossil carbon sources in fuels and chemicals.

Recently, the research on biomass conversion was boosted by the discovery of oxidative cleavage of glycosidic bonds by a new group of redox enzymes, currently known as lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs).

Genes encoding LPMOs are abundant in plant-degrading fungi and these enzymes are likely to act on a variety of biomass types.

There are clear indications that LPMOs may be exploited to dramatically increase the efficiency of enzymatic biomass conversion. However, this enzyme class has hardly been explored and many crucial questions about the LPMOs remain unanswered.

The main purpose of this project is to gain insight in the catalytic mechanism of LPMOs, with focus on substrate binding, enzyme specificity, and possible intermediates.

The results will be directly transferable to enzymes used as components in industrial biomass processing for optimized biomass degradation.

The project will be performed with state-of-the-art NMR spectroscopic methods, in close collaboration with research groups that have long-standing experience in characterization of LPMOs, including overexpression and structure determination by crystallography.

Application of NMR techniques, in parallel with crystallographic and computational studies, is expected to bring LPMO research considerably forward.