Our main aim is to identify and exploit potential untapped and alternative sources of biocatalysts. We are particularly interested in the development of new synthetic/biosynthetic routes and plausible chemo-enzymatic approaches that can directly incorporate different biocatalysts. The versatility of these methods when combined with existing biosynthetic pathways will open up new modes of synthesizing building blocks and derivatives of many existing drug targets and APIs that are currently marketed.
We have a long-standing interest in utilizing halogenases enzymes to synthesise non-naturals and to generate artificial enzymatic systems. These are versatile catalysts to synthesise many value-added chemicals and biomolecules with unique chemical or biophysical properties. Our approaches combine different aspects and research tools available from the fields of Synthetic Biology, Synthetic Chemistry, Enzymology, Structural Biology, Chemical Biology, Medicinal Chemistry and Metallo-catalysis. We apply various techniques including directed evolution, mechanistic and structural characterization, other biophysical techniques, combinatorial/retrospective engineering, microbial and pathway chassis engineering, machine learning and organic synthesis.
WISB Research Career Development Fellow, The University of Warwick (2017-Present).
EMBO ST Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPI-BPC), Germany (2017).
BBSRC-GSK Senior Research Associate, The University of Manchester (2013 - 2017).
BBSRC Research Associate , The University of Manchester (2009 - 2013).
ORS PhD Research Fellow, The University of Manchester (2006 - 2009).
- Menon, Binuraj R. K., Richmond, Daniel, Menon, Navya, 2022. Halogenases for biosynthetic pathway engineering : toward new routes to naturals and non-naturals. Catalysis Reviews: Science and Engineering, 64 (3), pp. 533-591
- Menon, Navya, Richmond, Daniel, Rahman, Mohammad Rejaur, Menon, Binuraj R. K., 2022. Versatile and facile one-pot biosynthesis for amides and carboxylic acids in E. coli by engineering auxin pathways of plant microbiomes. ACS Catalysis, 12 (4), pp. 2309-2319
- Cummings, Matthew, Peters, Anna D., Whitehead, George F. S., Menon, Binuraj R. K., Micklefield, Jason, Webb, Simon J., 2019. Assembling a plug-and-play production line for combinatorial biosynthesis of aromatic polyketides in Escherichia coli. PLoS Biology, 17 (7)
- Menon, Binuraj R. K., Jenner, Matthew, 2018. Biosynthesis : reprogramming assembly lines. Nature Chemistry, 10 (3), pp. 245-247
- Bennett, Matthew R., Thompson, Mark L., Shepherd, Sarah A., Dunstan, Mark S., Herbert, Abigail J., Smith, Duncan R. M., Cronin, Victoria A., Menon, Binuraj R. K., Levy, Colin, Micklefield, Jason, 2018. Structure and biocatalytic scope of coclaurine N-methyltransferase. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 57 (33), pp. 10600-10604
- Latham, Jonathan, Brandenburger, Eileen, Shepherd, Sarah A., Menon, Binuraj R. K., Micklefield, Jason, 2017. Development of halogenase enzymes for use in synthesis. Chemical Reviews
- Menon, Binuraj R. K., Brandenburger, Eileen, Sharif, Humera H., Klemstein, Ulrike, Shepherd, Sarah A., Greaney, Michael F., Micklefield, Jason, 2017. RadH : a versatile halogenase for integration into synthetic pathways. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 56 (39), pp. 11841-11845
- Menon, Binuraj R. K., Latham, Jonathan, Dunstan, Mark S., Brandenburger, Eileen, Klemstein, Ulrike, Leys, David, Karthikeyan, Chinnan, Greaney, Michael F., Shepherd, Sarah A., Micklefield, Jason, 2016. Structure and biocatalytic scope of thermophilic flavin-dependent halogenase and flavin reductase enzymes. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 14 (39), pp. 9354-9361
- Ortmayer, Mary, Lafite, Pierre, Menon, Binuraj R. K., Tralau, Tewes, Fisher, Karl, Denkhaus, Lukas, Scrutton, Nigel S., Rigby, Stephen E. J., Munro, Andrew W., Hay, Sam, Leys, David, 2016. An oxidative N-demethylase reveals PAS transition from ubiquitous sensor to enzyme. Nature, 539 (7630), pp. 593-597
- Latham, Jonathan, Henry, Jean-Marc, Sharif, Humera H., Menon, Binuraj R. K., Shepherd, Sarah A., Greaney, Michael F., Micklefield, Jason, 2016. Integrated catalysis opens new arylation pathways via regiodivergent enzymatic C?H activation. Nature Communications, 7
- Shepherd, Sarah A., Menon, Binuraj R. K., Fisk, Heidi, Struck, Anna-Winona, Levy, Colin, Leys, David, Micklefield, Jason, 2016. A structure-guided switch in the regioselectivity of a tryptophan halogenase. Chembiochem, 17 (9), pp. 821-824
- Menon, Binuraj R. K., Hardman, Samantha J. O., Scrutton, Nigel S., Heyes, Derren J., 2016. Multiple active site residues are important for photochemical efficiency in the light-activated enzyme protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (POR). Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 161, pp. 236-243
- Shepherd, Sarah A., Karthikeyan, Chinnan, Latham, Jonathan, Struck, Anna-Winona, Thompson, Mark L., Menon, Binuraj R. K., Styles, Matthew Q., Levy, Colin, Leys, David, Micklefield, Jason, 2015. Extending the biocatalytic scope of regiocomplementary flavin-dependent halogenase enzymes. Chemical Science, 6 (6), pp. 3454-3460
- Menon, Navya, Pásztor, András, Menon, Binuraj R. K., Kallio, Pauli, Fisher, Karl, Akhtar, M. Kalim, Leys, David, Jones, Patrik R., Scrutton, Nigel S., 2015. A microbial platform for renewable propane synthesis based on a fermentative butanol pathway. Biotechnology for Biofuels, 8 (1)
- Menon, Binuraj R. K., Menon, Navya, Fisher, Karl, Rigby, Stephen E. J., Leys, David, Scrutton, Nigel S., 2015. Glutamate 338 is an electrostatic facilitator of C-Co bond breakage in a dynamic/electrostatic model of catalysis by ornithine aminomutase. FEBS Journal, 282 (7), pp. 1242-1255
- Menon, Binuraj R. K., Fisher, Karl, Rigby, Stephen E. J., Scrutton, Nigel S., Leys, David, 2014. A conformational sampling model for radical catalysis in pyridoxal phosphate- and cobalamin-dependent enzymes. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 289 (49), pp. 34161-34174
- Menon, Binuraj R. K., Davison, Paul A., Hunter, C. Neil, Scrutton, Nigel S., Heyes, Derren J., 2009. Mutagenesis alters the catalytic mechanism of the light-driven enzyme protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 285 (3), pp. 2113-2119
- Menon, Binuraj R. K., Waltho, Jonathan P., Scrutton, Nigel S., Heyes, Derren J., 2009. Cryogenic and laser photoexcitation studies identify multiple roles for active site residues in the light-driven enzyme protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 284 (27), pp. 18160-18166
- Heyes, Derren J., Menon, Binuraj R. K., Sakuma, Michiyo, Scrutton, Nigel S., 2008. Conformational events during ternary enzyme-substrate complex formation are rate limiting in the catalytic cycle of the light-driven enzyme protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase. Biochemistry, 47 (41), pp. 10991-10998
- Menon, Binuraj R. K., 2021. The missing colours of chemistry. Nature Chemistry, Nature Publishing Group, pp. 101-106
Title | Funder | Award start | Award end |
---|---|---|---|
WISB extension Oct 21 - March 22 | BBSRC | 01 Oct 2021 | 31 Mar 2022 |
Expanding biohalogenation tools: Oxygen-sensitive Fe-dependent halogenases | Royal Society | 27 Mar 2019 | 26 Mar 2020 |