Journal of Zhejiang Agricultural Sciences ›› 2025, Vol. 66 ›› Issue (6): 1542-1550.DOI: 10.16178/j.issn.0528-9017.20250132

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Application of artificial intelligence in enzyme engineering

WU Jianxiong1(), BAO Yufeng2   

  1. 1. College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100091
    2. College of Life Science and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang
  • Received:2025-02-24 Online:2025-06-11 Published:2025-06-23

Abstract:

As an efficient and specific biocatalyst, enzymes are widely used in industry, medicine and environmental protection. However, the limitations of natural enzymes in terms of stability, catalytic activity, and selectivity limit their industrial applications. Enzyme engineering mainly adopts a variety of strategies such as rational design, directed evolution, semi-rational design, and artificial intelligence-aided design. Among them, directed evolution simulated the process of natural selection and screened out enzyme mutants with better performance. The rational design is based on the known structure and active site of the enzyme and is precisely modified. Although traditional enzyme engineering methods have achieved some success, they face challenges such as large sequence space, high experimental cost and scarce data. In recent years, the introduction of artificial intelligence technology has brought revolutionary breakthroughs to enzyme engineering. AI technology has shown significant advantages in protein structure prediction, function optimization, and mutant screening, which greatly expands the ability to explore enzyme sequence space and improves the efficiency of enzyme molecular modification. However, the application of AI technology in enzyme engineering still faces challenges such as data scarcity, model generalization, and experimental verification efficiency. In the future, with the improvement of computing power and the advancement of experimental technology, AI technology is expected to achieve higher precision and wider application in enzyme design, providing strong support for green industry and sustainable development.

Key words: enzyme engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning

CLC Number: