L’équipe ChemSyBio (Chemical and Synthetic Biology) de l’unité MICALIS rejoint le GIS FrenchBIC

Responsable de l’équipe : Olivier BERTEAU,

Équipe ChemSyBio (Chemical and Synthetic Biology), Unité MICALIS

Radical chemistry plays a pivotal role from bacteria to humans. In recent years, a novel group of enzymes called radical SAM enzymes has emerged as the most versatile radical biocatalysts in living organisms. These metallo-enzymes catalyze chemically difficult reactions using a central radical-based mechanism. Although broadly distributed, the importance of these enzymes has been recognized only recently. They are involved in a myriad of biosynthetic pathways (e.g. antibiotics, cofactors, RiPPs, natural products, post-translational modifications), catalyzing often unprecedented transformations. Our laboratory has conducted pioneer studies in order to decipher the complex mechanisms of these enzymes. By combining a broad range of approaches from analytical chemistry, to biochemistry and structural biology, we aim at discovering novel reactions catalyzed by this emerging super-family of enzymes in physiologically relevant processes such as bacteria-host interactions and within the microbiome.