Abstract
In recent years, efforts to exploit sunlight, a free and abundant energy source, have sped up dramatically. Oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, such as higher plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, can convert solar energy into chemical energy very efficiently using water as an electron donor. By providing organic building blocks for life in this way, photosynthesis is undoubtedly one of the most important processes on Earth. The aim of light-driven catalysis is to harness solar energy, in the form of reducing power, to drive enzymatic reactions requiring electrons for their catalytic cycle. Light-driven enzymes have been shown to have a large number of biotechnological applications, ranging from the production of high-value secondary metabolites to the development of green chemistry processes. Here, we highlight recent key developments in the field of light-driven catalysis using biological components. We will also discuss strategies to design and optimize light-driven systems in order to develop the next generation of sustainable solutions in biotechnology.
Highlights
Every ecosystem and food chain is dependent on primary producers enabling the fixation of inorganic CO2 into organic carbon skeletons
One possible route to achieve this is through the light reactions of photosynthesis, which facilitate the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy.The initial, lightdependent part of photosynthesis is a highly efficient process; the overall efficiency of photosynthesis is limited by the carbon-fixing enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase
Electrons can be supplied to the target enzyme by (A) a photosynthetic electron transport chain (PETC) mediated by photosystem I (PSI) and ferredoxin, e.g. a cytochrome P450, (B) an internal cofactor that captures light, e.g. a fatty acid photodecarboxylase (FAP), (C) an excited photosensitizer, e.g. a lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO), or (D) a PETC mediated by the plastoquinone (PQ) pool, e.g. a particulate methane monooxygenase
Summary
Every ecosystem and food chain is dependent on primary producers enabling the fixation of inorganic CO2 into organic carbon skeletons. One possible route to achieve this is through the light reactions of photosynthesis, which facilitate the conversion of solar energy into chemical energy.The initial, lightdependent part of photosynthesis is a highly efficient process; the overall efficiency of photosynthesis is limited by the carbon-fixing enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase This results in a significant loss of energy as heat, fluorescence, and through several alternative electron sinks (Rochaix, 2011). Eukaryotic P450s are membrane bound, mainly to the endoplasmic reticulum (class II), and to the mitochondrial and plastid membranes (class I), through an N-terminal transmembrane spanning segment (Schuler et al, 2006; Bak et al, 2011; Miyazaki et al, 2011) Owing to their involvement in a plethora of plant biosynthetic pathways, the successful expression of highly active P450s is a crucial step in establishing the production of high-value compounds such as plant secondary metabolites. Electrons can be supplied to the target enzyme by (A) a photosynthetic electron transport chain (PETC) mediated by photosystem I (PSI) and ferredoxin, e.g. a cytochrome P450, (B) an internal cofactor that captures light, e.g. a fatty acid photodecarboxylase (FAP), (C) an excited photosensitizer, e.g. a lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO), or (D) a PETC mediated by the plastoquinone (PQ) pool, e.g. a particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO)
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