Natural products

The sedentary lifestyle of plants has led to the evolution of a vast multitude of molecules that are synthesized for environmental adaptation and to influence other living organisms that co-habit the biosphere, both below and above ground.  Many of these molecules are products of secondary metabolism and their cellular homeostasis is regulated through glycosylation.  The Glytech GTs are naturally evolved biocatalysts for glycosylation of secondary metabolites.  Their substrates range from shikimate derivatives including benzoates, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids and coumarins, through to mevalonate derivatives such as terpenoids and steroids; acetyl-CoA derivatives such as fatty acids and polyketides; and amino acid derivatives such as alkaloids. Examples of these scaffolds are given below:

Glytech research has focussed on the relatedness of protein sequences/structures and substrate features.  This leads to a prediction capacity and the accumulation of a unique know-how on the selection of appropriate enzymes from the library to glycosylate target molecules.