Directed Evolution of Monooxygenases for Green Chemistry, Methanol Production, and Rhizoremediation

This project is to explore the use of a family of monooxygenases for the production of chiral chemicals without using harsh organics, for the production of methanol, and for the remediation of chlorinated aliphatics using a novel rhizoremediation process. An optimized family of monooxygenases is to be created using a DNA shuffling technique. These monooxygenases are to be specifically designed for the degradation of trichloroethylene, the formation of methanol, and for the synthesis of chiral compounds such as styrene epoxide and alpha-naphthol. An innovative and powerful selection technique is to be used to isolate the engineered proteins.