Wenzhong Huang

Biomass Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resouces, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
Author    Correspondence author
Biological Evidence, 2024, Vol. 14, No. 3   doi: 10.5376/be.2024.14.0015
Received: 03 May, 2024    Accepted: 06 Jun., 2024    Published: 21 Jun., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Huang W.Z., 2024, Application of synthetic biology in directed evolution to enhance enzyme catalytic efficiency, Bioscience Evidence, 14(3): 131-142 (doi: 10.5376/be.2024.14.0015)

Synthetic biology and directed evolution are at the forefront of modern biotechnology, offering unprecedented opportunities to enhance enzyme catalytic efficiency for industrial applications. This study provides a comprehensive overview of these fields, starting with an introduction to the principles of synthetic biology and the fundamentals of directed evolution, emphasizing their significance in improving enzyme performance. We explore various methods in directed evolution, including random and site-directed mutagenesis techniques and high-throughput screening methods, which are crucial for identifying variants with superior catalytic properties. The study also delves into the synthetic biology tools that have revolutionized directed evolution, such as CRISPR/Cas systems, recombinant DNA technology, and computational tools for enzyme design. Through detailed case studies, we highlight the successful application of these approaches in enhancing enzymes for biofuel production, pharmaceutical synthesis, food industry applications, and environmental bioremediation. The discussion extends to recent advances in enzyme engineering, showcasing significant achievements in catalytic efficiency improvements and the integration of synthetic biology with directed evolution. We also address the challenges and limitations in the field, including technical hurdles, scalability issues, and ethical considerations. Finally, we outline future perspectives, focusing on emerging technologies like genome editing and artificial intelligence, which hold the potential to further advance enzyme engineering. This study concludes with a reflection on the long-term goals and implications for the future of synthetic biology and directed evolution in industrial biotechnology.

Synthetic biology; Directed evolution; Enzyme catalytic efficiency; Protein engineering; Industrial biotechnology