Biological complexity: importance of enzymes (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, May 01, 2022, 15:45 (719 days ago) @ David Turell

No biological reaction occurs without them; without them no life:

https://www.sciencealert.com/engineers-create-an-enzyme-that-breaks-down-plastic-waste-...

"A new study outlines the use of a specially created enzyme variant that vastly reduces the time it takes to break down the components of plastics.

"We could even use the enzyme variant to clean up sites contaminated by plastic pollution, say the team that developed it.

"In tests, products made from the polymer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were broken down in a week and, in some cases, 24 hours – these are products that can take centuries to degrade properly in natural conditions.

"'The possibilities are endless across industries to leverage this leading-edge recycling process," says chemical engineer Hal Alper from the University of Texas at Austin.

"'Beyond the obvious waste management industry, this also provides corporations from every sector the opportunity to take a lead in recycling their products."

"The team has called the enzyme FAST-PETase (functional, active, stable, and tolerant PETase). They developed the enzyme from a natural PETase that allows bacteria to degrade PET plastic and modified it using machine learning to pinpoint five mutations that would enable it to degrade the plastic faster under different environmental conditions.

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"Right now, the most common methods for disposing of plastic are to throw it in a landfill where it rots at a very slow rate, or to burn it – which costs a lot, uses up plenty of energy, and fills the atmosphere with noxious gas. It's clear that alternative strategies are desperately needed, and this could be one of them.

"'This work really demonstrates the power of bringing together different disciplines, from synthetic biology to chemical engineering to artificial intelligence," says biochemist Andrew Ellington from the University of Texas at Austin."

Comment: Without enzymes any biochemical reaction takes many, many years. Life requires constant split-second reactions. Enzymes are giant organic molecules, often with metal atoms tucked in. Essentially, specific regions trap two organic molecules and force them to react. Enzymes are organized/designed groups of thousands of amino acids in specific sequences. They work specifically based on that design. Therefore, they are irreducibly complex and cannot have evolved naturally. Enzymes had to be present when life started. One conclusion fits this. Design is required. Note humans had to start with living bacteria to reach this designed enzyme