Synthesis of methyl halides from biomass using engineered microbes.

Journal article

Methyl halides are used as agricultural fumigants and are precursor molecules that can be catalytically converted to chemicals and fuels. Plants and microorganisms naturally produce methyl halides, but these organisms produce very low yields or are not amenable to industrial production. A single methyl halide transferase (MHT) enzyme transfers the methyl group from the ubiquitous metabolite S-adenoyl methionine (SAM) to a halide ion. Using a synthetic metagenomic approach, we chemically synth...

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Authors: Bayer, T; Widmaier, D; Temme, K; Mirsky, E; Santi, D

• Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society
• Volume: 131
• Issue: 18
• Pages: 6508-6515
• Publication date: 2009-05-01
• DOI: 10.1021/ja809461u
• EISSN: 1520-5126
• ISSN: 0002-7863
• Language: English
• Keywords: Genetic Engineering; Bacteria; Biomass; Chemical Industry; Hydrocarbons, Halogenated; Methyl Chloride; Hydrocarbons, Brominated; Hydrocarbons, Iodinated; Methyltransferases