Chalmers University researchers develop computer model predict speed of enzyme processing

In Sweden, drug molecules and biofuels can be made to order by living cell factories, where biological enzymes do the job. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed a computer model that can predict how fast enzymes work, making it possible to find the most efficient living factories, as well as to study complex diseases. Their results are published in Nature Catalysis. 

More possible applications are more efficient production of products made from natural organisms, as opposed to industrial processes. Penicillin extracted from a mold is one such example, as well as the cancer drug taxol from yew and the sweetener stevia. They are typically produced in low amounts by natural organisms.

The calculation model can also point out the changes in the enzyme turnover number or kcat value that occur if enzymes mutate, and identify unwanted amino acids that can have a major impact on an enzyme’s efficiency. The model can also predict whether the enzymes produce more than one “product.”