Gideon Davies and Paul Walton
Winners: 2020 Rita and John Cornforth Award
University of York
For the team's ground-breaking synergistic studies of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase enzymes and insights into the copper histidine brace active site.
Celebrate Professor Gideon Davies and Professor Paul Walton
#RSCAwards
To solve complex problems we will inevitably need the combined skills of many different people from many different backgrounds. This is why teamwork and equality in science are so important.
The world’s richest and most abundant biomass source is cellulose, the material which makes up the bulk of plant matter. Cellulose is comprised of sugars, linked together in polymeric form. If these sugars could be released and then fermented, then cellulose could potentially provide a rich source of sustainable biofuel – so-called cellulosic bioethanol. However, cellulose is a highly recalcitrant material which resists break down into its constituent sugar molecules.
Professor Walton and Professor Davies’ work has concentrated on the enzymes which are found in nature that naturally decompose cellulose. In particular, their studies have concentrated on a recently-discovered set of enzymes called Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenases (LPMOs). These enzymes have a complicated structure which they have studied using a technique called X-ray diffraction.
In addition to this, LPMOs use a single copper atom which is contained within their active site: this is essential for activity. The team's studies have helped understand how the copper orchestrates the chemistry of the enzyme. They’ve combined their expertise in quantum inorganic chemistry and structural enzymology to show that it activates oxygen from the air and can effectively break the chains of cellulose, making the sugar molecules available to be fermented and turned into fuel.
LPMOs are now used in commercial enzyme mixtures for the generation of cellulosic bioethanol.
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