Margit Winkler is fascinated by the power of natural biocatalysts for chemical synthesis. Many of the reactions that one may want to use for the preparation of organic molecules have not yet been developed, or have some limitations such as: the need for highly complicated and expensive catalysts, multiple steps or they simply suffer from low selectivity. The overall theme of Margit's research is to find new and alternative ways to catalyse a transformation by using enzymes. Sometimes, the goal is to determine the scope and limitations of an enzyme and possibly its engineering towards desired characteristics to overcome these limitations. Other times, it is the discovery and detailed study of enzymes that are not well known yet, in order to understand them better and to determine whether and how they could become applicable for synthesis. And finally, a particular product may be in the focus of the studies and the goal is then to find the best way to prepare it. Due to this broad portfolio of interests and needs, enzymes, substrates, products and methods that have been in the focus of the team over the years, it is essential to collaborate vividly and connect the knowledge of diverse fields. 

• May 2017 - April 2020 - FFG Industrienahe Dissertation:  Carboxylic Acid Reductases for Enzymatic Reduction of organic Acids to Aldehydes (CARERAA)

  In this project, we investigate CARs in depth with a focus on process relevant parameters.

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• Oct 2019 - Sept 2023 - CATalytic mechanisms and AppLications of OXidoreductases
  FWF Proj. Nr. 860262, Doc-Fund
  Partners: Prof. Robert Kourist, Prof. Rolf Breinbauer, Prof. Peter Macheroux, Prof. Bernd Nidetzky, Prof. Karl Gruber, Prof. Wolfgang Kroutil, AO Prof. Anton Glieder, Assoc.-Prof. Heidrun Gruber-Wölfler, Dr. Silvia Glück-Hartner
   

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• Jan 2020 - Dec 2023 - Enzymes for API Synthesis
  FFG COMET Project
  Partner: PharmaZell
  Collaborators: Prof. Helmut Schwab; Ass. Prof. Florian Rudroff, TU Wien; Dr. Gerhard G. Thallinger, Graz University of Technology
   

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• Jan 2020 - Dec 2023 - Engineering oxygenases for integrated bioprocesses
  FFG COMET Project
  Partner: bisy e.U.
  Collaborators: Prof. Gregorio Alvarez, University Autonoma Barcelona
   

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• Feb 2020 - Jan 2023 - Development of pyrazine producing strains
  Company Project
  Partners: Axxence Slovakia, s.r.o.
  Collaborators: Assistant Prof. Florian Rudroff, TUWien
   

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• Mar 2020 - Feb 2023 - A new chemoenzymatic route from carboxylic acids to nitriles
  FWF Proj. Nr. I 4607-N
  International Project
  Collaborators: Res. Prof. Ludmila Martinková, Dr. Miroslav Patek, Czech Academy of Sciences, Assistant Prof. Florian Rudroff, TUWien; Prof. Harald Gröger, University Bielefeld

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• November 2015 - February 2019 - FWF Project P 28477-B21: Catalytic cascades for selective aldehyde syntheses in vivo

  The main goal of this project is to understand the requirements and limitations of microbial cells for aldehyde synthesis. The synthesis of target products– chiral fragrance aldehydes – will be tackled by a combination of chemo-catalysis with a multi-enzymatic in vivo cascade reaction. This is a joint project with Dr. Florian Rudroff, Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry, TUVienna

  Project website:

  http://www.invivocascades.com

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• January 2017 - December 2018 - OeAD Project ZA 17/2017: Plant hydroxynitrile lyase diversity and application in industrial biocatalysis

  The goal of this project is to discover new enzymes from South African resources in collaboration with Prof. Karl Rumbold, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

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• April 2015 - March 2019 - Horizon2020 Project ROBOX: Grant agreement #635734
  
  
  The project title is Expanding the industrial use of Robust Oxidative Biocatalysts for the conversion and production of alcohols and our interest is to apply the combined knowledge and the analytical toolbox for the analysis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to characterize oxidizing enzymes from the project partners.

  This project is carried out within acib in close collaboration with Prof. Anton Glieder (TUGraz) and DSM Chemical Technology R&D BV.

   

  The research for this work has received funding from the European Union (EU) project ROBOX (grant agreement n° 635734) under  EU’s Horizon 2020 Programme  Research and Innovation actions H2020-LEIT BIO-2014-1

  

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• January 2108 - December 2018 - OeAD ASEA/UNINET: Crystallization of fungal carboxylate reductase
  
  The goal of this project is to collaborate with Prof. Farah Diba Abu Bakar, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia.

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• March 2015 - February 2019 - FWF Elise-Richter-Fellowship V415-B21: Biocatalytic Carboxylate reduction
  
  

   

  The aim of this project is to get a better understanding of carboxylate reducing enzymes to enable the development of cell factories for the selective enzymatic preparation of aldehydes. We would like to know more about the structure-function relationship of this enzyme class and to identify more of these enzymes on amino acid level.

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• December 2012 - November 2015 - FP7 Project KYROBIO: Grant agreement no: 289646

  
  
  The project title is The discovery, development and demonstration of biocatalysts for use in the industrial synthesis of chiral chemicals and our interest was to identify a new class of hydroxynitrile lyases. We found a very promising enzyme in the fern Davallia teyermanii and characterized it in detail.

   

  	This project was carried out within acib in close collaboration with Prof. Karl Gruber (UniGraz), Prof. Ruth Birner-Grünberger (ZMF and Omics Centre) and Dr. Gerhard Thallinger (TUGraz).

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• April 2014 - June 2015 - acib Project 84.011: Reverse nitrilase: From ammonium plus carboxylic acid to amine precursors

  The aim was to explore the substrate scope of enzymes that can convert a carboxylic acid to a nitrile.

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• January 2010 - December 2014 - acib Project 1.4-2: Enzymatic API Modification; Non-CYP drug metabolizing enzymes

  The aim was to make human drug metabolizing enzymes available in microbial hosts so that it is possible to prepare authentic human drug metabolites on the preparative scale.

  This project is carried out within acib in close collaboration with Novartis and F.Hoffmann-LaRoche.

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• January 2010 - December 2014 - acib Project 1.5-1: Amines and Peptides; Generation of efficient production strains for chiral amine synthesis

  The aim was to provide robust enzymes and yeast strains for the production of chiral amines.

  This project is carried out within acib in close collaboration with Prof. Anton Glieder, Dr. Andrea Camattari (TUGraz) and Ingenza Ltd.

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• January 2010 - December 2014 - acib Projects 1.2 and 4.12: Enzymatic Nitrile Reduction

  In this project we cloned, mutagenized and provided nitrile reductase enzymes to project partners with the aim to broaden its substrate specificity.

  This project is carried out within acib in close collaboration with Prof. Norbert Klempier, Prof. Bernd Nidetzky (TUGraz) and Prof. Karl Gruber (UniGraz).

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• January 2010 - June 2013 - acib Project 4.2-3: Enzyme engineering for complex reactions; Identification, expression and engineering of new complex microbial oxidoreductases

  The aim was to find enzymes for the reduction or oxidation of industrially relevant compounds.

  This project is carried out within acib in close collaboration with Prof. Helmut Schwab, Prof. Peter Macheroux (TUGraz) and Lonza AG.

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• January 2019 - July 2019 - FFG Proj. Nr. 870897 - FEM-Tech

  Collaborator: Dr. Gernot Strohmeier, Graz University of Technology

  The goal of this project is to synthesise aldehydes in cell free systems using carboxylate reductase enzymes. The need for stoichiometric amounts of ATP and NADPH is satisfied by recycling these costly cofactors using a cocktail of enzymes and polyphosphate as well as glucose as co-substrates.

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• Melissa Horvat
  PhD thesis
  Working title: Carboxylic Acid Reductases for Enzymatic Reduction of organic Acids to Aldehydes

• Daniel Schwendenwein
  PhD thesis
  Working title:Catalytic cascades for aldehyde synthesis in vivo
   
• David Gradischnig
  Bachelor thesis
  Working title: Towards structure elucidation of Neurospora crassa CAR domains
   
• Fritsche, Susanne:
  Working title: Characterization of CAR variants and new CARs

• Steinberger, Stefan:
  Working title: Towards green leaf aldehydes from fatty acids by lipoxygenases and hydroperoxide lyases

• Glänzer, Maximilian
  Working title: Characterization of novel nitrile hydratases

• Schwarz, Anna
  Working title: In Vitro reduction of carboxylates to aldehydes

• Hashem, Chiam
  PhD Thesis
  Systematic investigation of post-translational modification of carboxylic acid reductases

• Steinberger, Stefan
  Master Thesis
  Towards green leaf aldehydes from fatty acids by lipoxygenases and hydroperoxide lyases

• Tanja Saskia Larch
  Master thesis
  Systematic investigation of co-expression of carboxylate reductase and phosphopantetheinyl transferase in Pichia pastoris

• Lukas Pfeifenberger
  Master thesis
  Identification and functional characterization of new peroxygenases

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• Philippe Oberhemm
  Master thesis
  Characterization of new carboxylate reductase enzymes from Neurospora crassa
  June 2018
   
• Holly Stolterfoht
  Master thesis
  Mutational studies of Neurospora crassa carboxylate reductase
  November 2018
   
• Bianca Kerschbaumer
  Master thesis
  Evaluation of CYP505 Variants for the Preparation of Drug Metabolites: Bridging from Analytical to Preparative Scale
  September 2018
   
• Melissa Willim
  Master thesis
  CYP450 and its importance in Drug Development
  September 2018
   
• Lena Gsöls
  Bachelor thesis
  Lyophilization of E. coli and Pichia pastoris strains expressing Cytochrome P450 enzymes
  2018
   
• Bettina Schweda
  Bachelor Thesis
  Studies towards the Synthesis of Capsaicin and its Bioconversion using CYP 505
  January 2018
   
• Lukas Kargl
  Bachelor thesis
  Kinetic characterization of CYP505 expressing biocatalysts
  October 2017

• Katharina Dokulil
  Master Thesis
  Cloning, expression and characterization of 7-cyano-7-deazaguanine synthases
  May 2016

• Thorsten Bachler
  Bachelor Thesis
  Human enzymes for organic synthesis
  April 2016

• Elisa Lanfranchi
  PhD Thesis
  New Hydroxynitrile Lyase from white Rabbit's Foot Fern: The route from discovery to perspectives for applications
  Nov 2015
• Kamila Napora-Wijata
  PhD Thesis
  Identification and expression of new microbial oxidoreductases
  February 2014
• Thomas Prossliner
  Bachelor Thesis
  Characterization of a short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase from unconventional yeast Yarrowia lipolytica
  May 2013

• Dr. Florian Rudroff - www.ias.tuwien.ac.at/florianrudroff/ 
• Prof. Karl Gruber - www.uni-graz.at/karl.gruber/ 
• Prof. Ruth Birner-Grünberger - www.medunigraz.at/DK_MCD/Faculty_Birner-Gruenberger.htm 
• Prof. Rolf Breinbauer, Prof Norbert Klempier, Prof. Hansjörg Weber, Prof Tanja Wrodnigg - www.orgc.tugraz.at/index.php/wbPage/wbShow/USER12 
• bisy e.U. 
• F. Hoffmann-LaRoche - www.roche.com   
• Bio-Prodict - www.bio-prodict.nl 
• Prof. Karl Rumbold
• Prof. Farah Diba Abu Bakar