An international team of scientists from the Czech Republic, Germany and Japan have developed a new method for improving the properties of enzymes.
The principle of the discovery is based on genetic manipulation of the enzyme that is starting and accelerating the chemical reaction. Up to now, scientists had focused on modifying the enzyme’s properties on the active site, where the chemical reaction happens. The new method is based on the modification of so-called access tunnels that connect the active site with the surface of the enzyme.
The scientists applied the approach by modifying an enzyme to degrade the toxic substance, trichloropropane (TCP). This colorless liquid is a secondary product of chemical production. It can reside in the soil and groundwater for over 100 years, can contaminate drinking water and is a carcinogen. Using the new approach, the protein engineers developed a modified enzyme capable of degrading this substance 32 times faster than the original enzyme.
“Now we can use genetic modifications for changing the properties of the enzymes so they can faster and more easily dispose of harmful substances in the environment,” says Jiri Damborsky, leader of the Protein Engineering Group at the Institute of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University.