Towards crucial post-modification in biosynthesis of terpenoids and steroids: C3 oxidase and acetyltransferase

Terpenoids and steroids are two large families of natural products with diverse biological activities. C3 oxidase and acetyltransferase are the key enzymes in the post-modification of terpenoids and steroids, while their discovery is of great importance for the efficient bioproduction and wide application of these natural products. In this review, we first explain the reaction mechanism of typical enzymes. Next, we summarize the current state-of-art strategies in the discovery of C3 oxidase and acetyltransferase, and discuss rational engineering of these enzymes with novel catalytic functions. Finally, we propose how to obtain an excellent biocatalyst of C3 oxidase and acetyltransferase by exploiting the discovery strategy and the reaction mechanism.