Enzymes: Still cool after all these years

The first enzyme was discovered in 1833, almost 200 years ago and long before the nature of proteins was appreciated. The field of enzymology came into its own in the 20th century. Technological advances in the hands of creative enzymologists led to an ever-growing understanding of how enzymes achieve enormous rate accelerations as well as the structural basis for substrate specificity and allosteric regulation.

Enzymologists continue to break new ground as we enter the 21st century. Our session at Discover BMB will feature new work on enzyme functions, mechanisms and applications.

Our first group of speakers will focus on enzymes that deal with problems caused by misbehaving metabolites. They will describe how enzymes can protect unstable intermediates and repair damaged metabolites.  Our second group will explore the potential of using enzymes for biodegradation and green biosynthesis of chemicals currently produced from petrochemicals. Our final group will focus on enzymes that catalyze novel reactions, pushing the boundaries of chemistry accessible through biocatalysts.

Keywords: Substrate channeling, metabolite repair, biodegradation, green chemistry, natural product biosynthesis, radical chemistry.

Who should attend: Anyone who appreciates the awesome power of enzyme catalysis.

Theme song: “Still Crazy After All These Years” by Paul Simon, because enzymes are crazy-efficient catalysts

This session is powered by the ribosome, which produces the enzymes that make life possible.

Cool and novel enzymes

Enzymatic control of problematic intermediates

Chair: Hung-Wen (Ben) Liu

Shelley D. Copley, University of Colorado Boulder

Tom Niehaus, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Shelley Minteer, University of Utah

Carole Linster, University of Luxembourg

Enzymes for a sustainable future

Chair: Shelley D. Copley

Gregg Beckham, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Larry Wackett, University of Minnesota

Michelle Chang, University of California, Berkeley

Raquel Lieberman, Georgia Institute of Technology

New and unusual enzymatic transformations

Chair: Michelle Chang

Hung-wen (Ben) Liu, University of Texas at Austin

Aimin Liu, University of Texas at San Antonio

Sara O'Connor, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Wenjun Zhang, University of California, Berkeley