Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd.

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Toudai Tlo, Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Adeka Corporation

Kyowa Hakko Bio Co., Ltd.

Tomohisa Kuzuyama

Shinichi Hashimoto

Akio Ozaki

Haruo Seto

Hiroaki Motoyama

Koichiro Miyake

Shunji Takahashi

Joseph Noel

Stephane Richard

Masayoshi Muramatsu

Shusei Obata

Seiji Koike

Satoshi Yoneda

Toshihiko Takehana

Masahiro Sugimura

Shinichi Lsp Machida 1203 Hashimoto

Shunji Greenhouse B 102 Takahashi

The object of the present invention is to efficiently produce useful terpenoid compounds, and specifically, to provide a method for preparing squalene, which is an important intermediate of terpenoid. The object can be solved by a hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase (HMGR) comprising: (a) an amino acid other than alanine (A) at the 10th position in an S&#x3b1;2 amino acid sequence of HMGR, (b) an amino acid other than proline (P) at the 1st position from the carboxyl terminal in the DKK region of the HMG-CoA binding site of HMGR, (c) an amino acid other than alanine (A) at the 1st position in an L&#x3b1;2 amino acid sequence of HMGR, and (d) an amino acid other than glutamic acid (E) at the 6th position in an L&#x3b1;2 amino acid sequence of HMGR of the present invention.

Mutant enzyme and production method for terpenoid using said mutant enzyme

This invention relates to a recombinant microorganism having improved butanol production capacity and butanol production with the use of such recombinant microorganism with good efficiency. In this invention, the acetoacetyl-CoA synthase gene encoding an enzyme capable of synthesizing acetoacetyl-CoA from malonyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA and a group of genes involved in butanol biosynthesis that enables synthesis of butanol from acetoacetyl-CoA are introduced into a host microorganism.

Recombinant microorganism having butanol production capacity and butanol production method

In accordance with the present invention, a novel aromatic prenyltransferase, Orf2 fromsp. strain CL190, involved in naphterpin biosynthesis has been identified and the structure thereof elucidated. This prenyltransferase catalyzes the formation of a C&#x2014;C bond between a prenyl group and a compound containing an aromatic nucleus, and also displays C&#x2014;O bond formation activity. Numerous crystallographic structures of the prenyltransferase have been solved and refined, e.g., (1) prenyltransferase complexed with a buffer molecule (TAPS), (2) prenyltransferase as a binary complex with geranyl diphosphate (GPP) and Mg, and prenyltransferase as ternary complexes with a non-hydrolyzable substrate analogue, geranyl S-thiolodiphosphate (GSPP) and either (3) 1,6-dihydroxynaphthalene (1,6-DHN), or (4) flaviolin (i.e., 2,5,7-trihydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, which is the oxidized product of 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxynaphthalene (THN)). These structures have been solved and refined to 1.5 &#x212b;, 2.25 &#x212b;, 1.95 &#x212b; and 2.02 &#x212b;, respectively. This first structure of an aromatic prenyltransferase displays an unexpected and non-canonical (&#x3b2;/&#x3b1;)-barrel architecture. The complexes with both aromatic substrates and prenyl containing substrates and analogs delineate the active site and are consistent with a proposed electrophilic mechanism of prenyl group transfer. These structures also provide a mechanistic basis for understanding prenyl chain length determination and aromatic co-substrate recognition in this structurally unique family of aromatic prenyltransferases. This structural information is useful for predicting the aromatic prenyltransferase activity of proteins.

Aromatic prenyltransferases, nucleic acids encoding same and uses therefor

The present invention provides a process for producing isoprenoid compounds or proteins encoded by DNA using DNA that contains one or more of the DNA encoding proteins having activity to improve efficiency in the biosynthesis of isoprenoid compounds effective in pharmaceuticals for cardiac diseases, osteoporosis, homeostasis, prevention of cancer, and immunopotentiation, health food and anti-fouling paint products against barnacles; the DNA; the protein; and a method for screening a substance with antibiotic and weeding activities comprising screening a substance inhibiting enzymatic reaction on the non-mevalonate pathway.

Process for producing isoprenoid compounds by microorganisms and a method for screening compounds with antibiotic or weeding activity

The present invention provides a process for producing isoprenoid compounds or proteins encoded by DNA using DNA that contains one or more of the DNA encoding proteins having activity to improve efficiency in the biosynthesis of isoprenoid compounds effective in pharmaceuticals for cardiac diseases, osteoporosis, homeostasis, prevention of cancer, and immunopotentiation, health food and anti-fouling paint products against barnacles the DNA; the protein; and a method for screening a substance with antibiotic and weeding activities comprising screening a substance inhibiting enzymatic reaction on the non-mevalonate pathway.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Tomohisa Kuzuyama