Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
The use of biocatalysts for the industrial synthesis of chemicals has been attracting much attention as an environment-friendly synthetic method. Microbial cells play a leading role in 'chemo-enzymatic synthesis' because of their great diversity. Several microbes with unique catalytic abilities have been found through intensive screening and put to practical use. Besides, advanced molecular biological techniques are powerful tools for developing more satisfactory biocatalysts.