Microbial Oxidoreductases: Biotechnological and Synthetic Applications

Enzymes are biocatalysts responsible for driving all biochemical reactions in the cells. The enzymes determine the physiology of a cell and together regulate the growth and proliferation of cells in response to various environmental signals. The ability of cells to adapt and respond to environmental conditions can be utilized for industrial applications. Hydrolases and oxidoreductases are the most common classes of enzymes used in various industries such as pharmaceutical, food and beverages, bioremediation and biofuels, among others. Oxidoreductases are the EC1 class enzymes that catalyze the biological oxidation and reduction reactions. They transfer electrons from one molecule (reductant that donates electron) to other molecules (oxidants those accept electron). Usually, the enzymes of this class are NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide) or NADP (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate)-dependent. The oxidoreductases are a diverse class of enzymes responsible for catalyzing highly stereo selective and regioselective reactions, because of which they are the enzymes of choice for synthesis of optically-active compounds. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is one of the most studied oxidoreductases. Generally, ADHs have narrow specificity towards their substrates. Here we are looking for ADH having high/ broad specificity towards the substrate. This review discusses the enzyme oxidoreductase, synthetic transformation with oxidoreductase and application of oxidoreductase in bioremediation.