Exploring the Potential of Diels—Alderases as Biocatalysts

Abstract

The Diels–Alder reaction is widely used in organic chemistry to construct molecules containing a cyclohexene core. However, it often requires the use of harsh conditions such as elevated temperature and pressure or the use of catalysts. An attractive alternative would be to use enzymes to catalyse such [4+2] cycloadditions at room temperature. Hence, significant effort has been dedicated to the development of artificial Diels–Alderases as well as to the study of biosynthetic pathways proposed to involve a Diels-Alder reaction. However, the field is in its infancy and significant effort is required to develop such biocatalytic carbon-carbon bond forming reactions for use on a synthetically valuable scale.
The antibiotic abyssomicin C is a notable spirotetronate formed via a Diels-Alder reaction catalysed by AbyU. The PhD work was focused on identifying the key residues that are involved in substrate-folding within the AbyU active site. The work was also focused on investigating the substrate specificity of AbyU.

Date of Award	9 May 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Chris L Willis (Supervisor)