Abstract by Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Manfred T. Reetz

Evolution in the Test Tube: An Abundant Catalyst Source for Stereoselective Reactions

Since the first report on directed evolution of stereoselective enzymes as a new catalyst source in organic chemistry and Biotechnology [1], the underlying concept has been generalized to include almost all enzyme types: hydrolases (e.g. lipases, esterases, epoxide hydrolases, glycosidases), monooxygenases (e.g. P450, Baeyer-Villiger enzymes), reductases (e.g. alcohol dehydrogenases, enoate reductases), and CC linkage enzymes (e.g. aldolases, oxynitrilases). [2,3] Repetitive cycles of gene mutagenesis and screening form the basis of this Darwinian approach, because ?evolutionary pressure? is exerted in each round with a concomitant increase in enantioselectivity. Since the screening step is labor intensive, we have recently developed efficient methods to generate small but ?intelligent? mutant libraries. [2-5] The applications are particularly interesting when it comes to selective material conversions that cannot be achieved with modern synthetic reagents, transition metal catalysts or organocatalysts. [5]

---

[1] MT Reetz et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1997, 36, 2830-2832.
[2] Review of directed evolution of stereoselective enzymes: MT Reetz, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 138-174.
[3] Perspectives article on biocatalysis in organic chemistry: MT Reetz, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 12480-12496.
[4] Review of recent method developments in the field of directed evolution: MT Reetz et al., Chem. Eur. J. 2016, 22, 5046-5054.
[5] Directed evolution of enantioselective alcohol dehydrogenases for the asymmetric reduction of ?difficult? ketones: MT Reetz et al., ACS Catal. 2016, 6, 1598-1605.

Curriculum Vitae of Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Manfred T. Reetz