Glycoenzymes for Bioindustries
Lead Research Organisation:
Institute of Food Research
Department Name: Gut Microbes and Health
Abstract
There are a wealth of glycoenzymes in nature but only a small number of enzymatic activities are used in industrial processes, primarily carbohydrate degrading enzymes used in high volume manufacturing such as amylases/xylanases/cellulases/oxidases used in baking/detergents/biofuels. Even fewer examples exist in high value manufacturing applications such as biologics: one example is the production of the therapeutic Cerezyme where alpha-neauramindase is used to deglycosylate exposing terminal Man residues improving its targeting. A major hurdle is the availability of appropriate enzymes which can limit utilisation in the early stage of process development thus reducing the number of successful processes involving glycoenzymes. The present project aims to overcome the current limitations of glycoenzyme availability by bringing together a number of innovative high-throughput approaches to biocatalyst discovery. We have assembled a list of 20 different glycoenzyme activities including various glycosyltransferases, polysaccharide-modifying enzymes, glycosidases and sugar oxidases that will form the basis of the research. Through iterative rounds of biocatalyst discovery, characterisation and development we aim to bring to market panels of different glycoenzyme classes that are readily available for screening by end users.
Technical Summary
The project will translate existing academic work on the development of novel glycoenzymes to produce a suite of stable/robust enzymes at scale to address the current gaps in certain commercially available specificities. The lack of availability of such enzymes is a major barrier to those wishing to utilise them for diagnostics, synthesis or chemical modification processes often necessitating de novo synthesis of the enzyme targeting the required reaction before development/evaluation of the process can begin. Each academic partner will develop a subset of the glycoenzyme classes, providing the necessary analytical expertise to characterise and optimise the enzymes. Underpinning this work will be genome mining combined with enzyme evolution to discover/develop novel microbial sourced enzymes displaying desired activities. Industry input to the project will guide the development of the enzymes whilst ensuring that they are fit for purpose and brought to market to allow end user access.
Planned Impact
As described in proposal submitted to IUK
Organisations
- Institute of Food Research, United Kingdom (Lead Research Organisation)
- EPSRC, United Kingdom (Co-funder)
- Ludger Ltd, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- BASF (Collaboration)
- John Innes Centre, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- Diamond Light Source, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
- University of East Anglia, United Kingdom (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
Nathalie Juge (Principal Investigator) |
Publications

CAZypedia Consortium
(2018)
Ten years of CAZypedia: a living encyclopedia of carbohydrate-active enzymes.
in Glycobiology
Description | We have identified and characterised novel glycoenzymes of interest for a range of industrial applications. |
Exploitation Route | The glycoenzymes could be used as tools for glycan synthesis The glycoenzymes could be used as tools for glycan profiling The glycoenzymes could be used as tools for diagnosis |
Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Description | The glycoenymes identified in this project are subject of MTA with industry. We have entered discussions with the Business Team on commercialisation of specific glycoenzymes. |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Description | Carbohydrate analysis |
Organisation | John Innes Centre |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Supervised and coordinated research project |
Collaborator Contribution | Provided expertise and access to NMR facility |
Impact | WO2017134466A1. Patent Application on intramolecular trans-sialidase; Carbohydr Res. 2017 Nov 8;451:110-117. doi: 10.1016/j.carres.2017.08.008. |
Start Year | 2007 |
Description | Diagnostic company |
Organisation | Ludger Ltd |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Identified and characterised glycoenzyme targets |
Collaborator Contribution | Tested glycoenzymes for application in diagnostic kit |
Impact | Commercial product |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Fucosidase testing |
Organisation | BASF |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We have produced and characterised novel fucosidases as part of the Glycoenzyme project |
Collaborator Contribution | A subset of fucosidases were provided to BASF under MTA for them to test suitability in potential applications |
Impact | Transfer of materials |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Fucosidase testing |
Organisation | Ludger Ltd |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We have produced and characterized novel fucosidases as part of the Glycoenzyme project |
Collaborator Contribution | A subset of fucosiadses have been tested by Ludger for potential application |
Impact | Exchange of materials, Technical reports |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | STD-NMR |
Organisation | University of East Anglia |
Department | Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine UEA |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We provided proteins and ligands for analysis by STD NMR to complement some of our data on mechanisms of host-bacteria interactions. This collaboration resulted in high impact joint publications led by QIB (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 pii: 201715016; Nat Commun. 2017 ;8(1):2196) |
Collaborator Contribution | STD- NMR analysis of proteins and ligands we provided. Some of this work led to the development of DEEP STD NMR, leading to a joint publication led by UEA (Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2017 56:15289-15293). |
Impact | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 pii: 201715016; Nat Commun. 2017 ;8(1):2196; Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2017 56:15289-15293 |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Synchrotron Oxford |
Organisation | Diamond Light Source |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Provided collaborator with proteins and ligands for X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM |
Collaborator Contribution | X-ray crystallography of proteins free and in complex |
Impact | Nat Commun. 2017 Dec 19;8(1):2196. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02109-8. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Glycobiology Network Latin America |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Workshop on Glycobiology of host-microbe interactions in the gut. Biotechnology and glycobiology tools for human health, Guanajuato, Mexico, 9-11/10/2017 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | IBCarb |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Contributed to the final IBCarb workshop Glycobiotechnology 2018. IBCarb (Glycoscience Tools for Biotechnology and Bioenergy) is a growing network of glycoscientists from academia and industry. IBCarb was one of the Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy funded by the BBSRC. The workshop was very successful and attracted around 150 attendees (international audience from academia and industry) . This was an opportunity to showcase the Glycosciences carried out in the UK and in partnership with industrial/business partners. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://ibcarb.com/events/ |