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X-WR-CALNAME:Chemical Biology Supergroup: Debasis Das
X-WR-TIMEZONE:Eastern Time (US & Canada)
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260809T172205Z
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53613244601328
DTSTART:20260818T193000Z
DTEND:20260818T203000Z
DESCRIPTION:Speaker: Debasis Das (Indian Institute of Science)\nTalk Title:
  Harnessing Enzymatic Power for Bioenergy and Therapeutics\n\nDescription:
  Enzymes are nature's most efficient catalysts\, capable of driving comple
 x chemical transformations with remarkable speed and selectivity. Understa
 nding how these biological catalysts function not only deepens our knowled
 ge of fundamental biochemistry but also enables innovative solutions for c
 hallenges in sustainable manufacturing and human health. In this seminar\,
  I will present our efforts to discover and engineer microbial enzymes for
  two distinct yet impactful applications: renewable hydrocarbon production
  and the treatment of biofilm-associated infections.\n\nThe first part foc
 uses on UndB\, a membrane-bound enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of fa
 tty acids into terminal 1-alkenes─valuable platform chemicals widely use
 d in the production of polymers\, lubricants\, and detergents. Although Un
 dB was discovered nearly a decade ago\, its catalytic mechanism has remain
 ed largely elusive. Our studies establish that UndB is a diiron enzyme wit
 h a conserved histidine-coordinated active site and demonstrate that catal
 ysis requires molecular oxygen together with electron-transfer partners. T
 hese mechanistic insights have guided the engineering of an efficient whol
 e-cell biocatalyst capable of converting naturally abundant free fatty aci
 ds into medium-chain 1-alkenes with conversion efficiencies of up to 95%.\
 n\nThe second part highlights the discovery of microbial enzymes that targ
 et the extracellular matrix of bacterial biofilms\, offering a promising s
 trategy to combat antimicrobial-resistant infections. We identified an orp
 han enzyme from the cow rumen microbiome that rapidly disperses mature bio
 films formed by clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae at low micromol
 ar concentrations\, thereby enhancing antibiotic susceptibility and promot
 ing immune-mediated clearance in a murine wound infection model. We furthe
 r discovered CRhAB\, a biofilm-matrix-degrading enzyme that selectively ta
 rgets Acinetobacter baumannii. Immobilization of CRhAB onto clinical-grade
  gauze generated a bioactive wound dressing that effectively prevented bac
 terial colonization and significantly accelerated wound healing in vivo.\n
 \nTogether\, these studies demonstrate how mechanistic understanding and e
 ngineering of microbial enzymes can drive transformative advances in both 
 sustainable biocatalysis and next-generation antimicrobial therapies.\n\n 
 \n\nPlease click the link below to register for the webinar:\nhttp://broad
 .io/ChemBioSupergroup
LOCATION:
SUMMARY:Chemical Biology Supergroup: Debasis Das
URL;VALUE=URI:https://events.broadinstitute.org/event/chemical-biology-supe
 rgroup-debasis-das
CATEGORIES:Talks
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