Computational protein design enables a novel one-carbon assimilation pathway

Journal Article · Mon Mar 09 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1500545112· OSTI ID:1211355

Siegel, JB; Smith, AL; Poust, S; Wargacki, AJ; Bar-Even, A; Louw, C; Shen, BW; Eiben, CB; Tran, HM; Noor, E; Gallaher, JL; Bale, J; Yoshikuni, Y; Gelb, MH; Keasling, JD; Stoddard, BL; Lidstrom, ME; Baker, D

We describe a computationally designed enzyme, formolase (FLS), which catalyzes the carboligation of three one-carbon formaldehyde molecules into one three-carbon dihydroxyacetone molecule. The existence of FLS enables the design of a new carbon fixation pathway, the formolase pathway, consisting of a small number of thermodynamically favorable chemical transformations that convert formate into a three-carbon sugar in central metabolism. The formolase pathway is predicted to use carbon more efficiently and with less backward flux than any naturally occurring one-carbon assimilation pathway. When supplemented with enzymes carrying out the other steps in the pathway, FLS converts formate into dihydroxyacetone phosphate and other central metabolites in vitro. These results demonstrate how modern protein engineering and design tools can facilitate the construction of a completely new biosynthetic pathway.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AR0000091
• OSTI ID: 1211355
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 112, Issue 12; ISSN 0027-8424
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English