Postgenomic chemistry: New problems and challenges

Abstract

New trends in chemistry induced by genetic engineering and genomic information are analyzed. Genomic information and bioinformatics make the identification of all molecular participants of biological processes possible. The methods of identification of enzyme-active sites from sequence data were demonstrated. The problems of "chemical proteomics" were formulated and analyzed. New biocatalytic processes based on a new generation of enzymes, including CO2 reduction and enzyme fuel cell construction, are demonstrated. It was shown that in many reactions the enzymes are substantially more efficient in comparison with classical chemical catalysts. The creation of recombinant proteins from unnatural amino acids is demonstrated, and organisms containing such proteins are described. The new trends of proteomics and bioanalytical chemistry in the postgenomic era are discussed.