IISc researchers develop engineered biocatalyst for making drop-in biofuels

In India, The Hindu reported that researchers at the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry (IPC) of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), have developed an enzymatic platform that can efficiently transform abundant and inexpensive fatty acids to valuable hydrocarbons called 1-alkenes, which are promising biofuels.

“They show great potential as drop-in biofuels, which can be blended and used with existing fuels and infrastructure. These hydrocarbons can potentially be synthesised on a large scale using microorganism factories. Enzymes that help mass-produce these hydrocarbons are, therefore, highly sought after. Hydrocarbons are also widely used in polymer, detergent and lubricant industries,” IISc said.

In a previous study, the IISc team purified and characterized an enzyme called UndB, bound to the membranes of living cells, especially certain bacteria. It can convert fatty acids to 1-alkenes at the fastest rate currently possible. However, the team found that the process was not very efficient – the enzyme would become inactivated after just a few cycles. When they investigated further, they realized that H2O2 – a byproduct of the reaction process – was inhibiting UndB, according to the report.

In the current study published in Science Advances, the team circumvented this challenge by adding another enzyme called catalase to the reaction mix, the report added.

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