A3: An application for extremophile research in biotechnology is in improving organic synthesis
1.) Organic synthesis is the construction of organic molecules via organic reactions. It has been used to generate pharmaceuticals, dyes, cosmetics, high-technology materials, agricultural chemicals, among others. Carbon-carbon bond formation is central to organic synthesis (recall that "organic" indicates that carbon-based molecules are being synthesized). C-C bond forming reactions are carried out in conditions of high temperature, generally. (b)
2.) Aldolases have been greatly investigated for their potential in C-C bond formation - fundamental to organic synthesis. They have not become widely used because of their fast inactivation under industrial conditions (high substrate concentration, elevated temperature, presence of organic solvents). Aldolases from hyperthermophilic pose a possible solution to these issues, as they are highly thermostable. DHAP-dependent aldolases (those which use dihydroxyacetone phosphate as a donor) are of particular interest, like those found in Thermus ther- mophilus and Thermo- anaerobacter ethanolicus. (a)
(a) Falcicchio, Pierpaolo; Franssen, Maurice C. R.; Oost, van der John; Wolterink-Van Loo, Suzanne. "DHAP-dependent Aldolases from (Hyper)thermophiles: Biochemistry and Applications." Extremophiles: Life Under Extreme Conditions: Volume 18, Issue 1 (2014-Jan): 1-13. Web. 10 March. 2014.
(b) Nicolaou, K.C. "Organic Synthesis: the Art and Science of Replicating the Molecules of Living Nature and Creating Others Like Them in the Laboratory." Proceedings of the Royal Society: Volume 470, No. 2163 (2014-March). Web. 20 March. 2014.
(c) Nicotra, Silvia; Cramarossa, Maria Rita; Mucci, Adele; Pagnoni, Ugo Maria; Riva, Sergio; Forti, Luca. "Biotransformation of resveratrol: synthesis of
trans-dehydrodimers catalyzed by laccases from
Myceliophtora thermophyla and from Trametes pubescens." Tetrahedron: Volume 60 (2004): 595-600. Web. 20 March. 2014.
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