Robert Kourist

Ancestors of Arylmalonate Decarboxylase show increased Activity, Stability and Stereoselectivity

Ancestral sequence reconstruction of a bacterial decarboxylase gave enzymes with up to 294-fold longer half-life at 45 °C, higher activity, and 99.7% ee on a vinyl malonate substrate.

Deciphering the evolutionary origin of the stereoselectivity of short-chain dehydrogenases in the oxidation of the monoterpenol 1-borneol

The paper investigates how natural evolution creates enantioselectivity in plant borneol dehydrogenases through ancestral sequence reconstruction and simulations.

Full-Atom MPNN Based Redesign of Plant Dehydrogenase Enables Thermostability Enhancement Without Loss of Stereoselectivity

The paper uses FAMPNN to redesign SrBDH1 for increased thermostability while maintaining stereoselectivity.

Engineering Membrane-Bound Alkane Monooxygenase from Marinobacter sp. for Increased Activity in the Selective ω-Hydroxylation of Linear and Branched Aliphatic Esters

This paper engineers a membrane-bound alkane monooxygenase to improve its activity in selectively hydroxylation of linear and branched aliphatic esters, achieving stereoselectivity and expanding substrate range.

Hydrophobic pocket engineering of arylmalonate decarboxylase expands its substrate scope towards the synthesis of the (R)-enantiomers of sterically hindered carboxylic acids

This study modifies arylmalonate decarboxylase to expand its substrate scope for synthesizing (R)-enantiomers of sterically hindered carboxylic acids with high enantiopurity.

Engineering of Transmembrane Alkane Monooxygenases to Improve a Key Reaction Step in the Synthesis of Polymer Precursor Tulipalin A

The paper engineers transmembrane alkane monooxygenases to improve terminal hydroxylation of isoprenyl acetate, enabling fermentative production of tulipalin A from renewable resources.

Strong heterologous electron sink outcompetes alternative electron transport pathways in photosynthesis

The paper demonstrates that a heterologous electron sink outcompetes natural electron transport pathways in engineered cyanobacteria, revealing FNR as the preferred route for electron delivery and highlighting the NADPH/NADP+ ratio's role in electron flux.