Summer Synthetic Biology Talk_Taku Miztuntani: Exploring Enzymes Catalyzing the Formation of Non-Canonical Amino Acids

This Wednesday, Prof. Taku Miztutani, an assistant professor in Prof. Abe’s laboratory at the University of Tokyo will present. He will be giving a talk on his work for non-canonical amino acid biochemistry, biocatalysis, & biosynthesis.

Talk Title: Exploring Enzymes Catalyzing the Formation of Non-Canonical Amino Acids
Talk Abstract: Non-canonical aminoacids (NCAAs) serve as valuable building blocks for the structurally and functionally diverse bioactive compounds. Enzymatic synthesis offers a highly efficient and selective approach to accessing these molecules, owing to the remarkable regio- and stereoselectivity of enzymatic transformations, as well as their compatibility with mild reaction conditions. In this presentation, I will discuss our recent efforts to discover and characterize bacterial enzymes capable of catalyzing the modification of standard amino acids to form functionalized NCAAs, mainly about the biosynthesis of α-hydroxy-β-amino acids(norstatines).