Kevin D. Walker Recent Publications
Wanninayake, U., and Walker, K.D. 2012. Assessing the Deamination Rate of a Covalent Aminomutase Adduct by Burst Phase Analysis. Biochemistry 51 (26) 5226-5228. Link to publication
Muchiri, R. and Walker, K. D. 2012. Taxol Biosynthesis: Tyrocidine Synthetase A Catalyzes the Production of Phenylisoserinyl-CoA and Other Amino Phenylpropanoyl Thioesters. Chem. Biol. 19, 679-685. Link to publication
†Strom, S., †Wanninayake, U., Ratnayake D.N., *Walker, K.D., *Geiger, J.H. 2012. Insights into the Mechanistic Pathway of the Pantoea agglomerans Phenylalanine Aminomutase. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 2012, 51, 2898–2902. Link to publication.
†Co-first authors. *Co-corresponding authors. Strom/Geiger contributed the structure refinement data (at 1.7 Å resolution) of covalent intermediates; Wanninayake/Ratnayake/Walker provided the biochemical data, mechanistic studies, and mutational analyses.
Wanninayake, U., DePorre, Y., Ondari, M., and Walker, K. D. 2011. (S)-α-Styrylalanine Used to Probe the Intermolecular Mechanism of an Intramolecular MIO-Aminomutase. Biochemistry, 50, 10082–10090. Link to publication
Ratnayake D.N., Wanninayake, U., Geiger, J.H., Walker K.D. 2011. The Stereochemistry and Mechanism of a Microbial Phenylalanine Aminomutase. J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 133: 8531-8533. Link to publication
*Feng, L., *Wanninayake, U., Strom, S., Geiger, J., and Walker, K.D. 2011. Mechanistic, Mutational, and Structural Evaluation of a Taxus Phenylalanine Aminomutase. Biochemistry 50, 2919-2930. Link to E-publication
*Co-first authors: Feng contributed the structural data; Wanninayake provided biochemical data supporting the mechanistic and mutational hypotheses.
Wijerathne S., Byrne N.A., Walker K.D. 2010. Separation of α- from β-Arylalanines by Nickel Nitrilotriacetate Chromatography. J. Sep. Sci. 33, 1279–1282. Link to publication
Nawarathne I.N., Walker K.D. 2010. Point Mutations (Q19P and N23K) Increase the Operational Solubility of a 2-O-Benzoyltransferase That Conveys Various Acyl Groups from CoA to a Taxane Acceptor. J. Nat. Prod. 73 (2): 151–159. Link to Publication
Cox B.M., Bilsborrow J.B., Walker K.D. 2009. Enhanced Conversion of Racemic α-Arylalanines to (R)-β-Arylalanines by Coupled Racemase/Aminomutase Catalysis. J. Org. Chem. 74(18):6953-9. Link to publication
Nevarez D.M., Mengistu Y., Nawarathne I.N., Walker K.D. 2009. An N-Aroyltransferase of the BAHD Superfamily has Broad Aroyl CoA Specificity In Vitro with Analogs of N-Dearoylpaclitaxel. J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 131(16):5994-6002. Link to publication
Ondari, M.E. and Walker K.D. 2009. Synthesis of 4-Deacetyl-1-dimethylsilyl-7-triethylsilylbaccatin III. J. Org. Chem., 2009, 74 (5), pp 2186-2188. Link to publication
Ondari, M.E. and Walker K.D. 2008. A Taxol Pathway 10-O-Acetyltransferase Shows Regioselective Promiscuity with the Oxetane Hydroxyl of 4-Deacetyltaxanes. J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 130(50), 17187-17194. Link to publication
Mutatu, W., Klettke, K.L., Foster, C., and Walker, K.D. 2007. Unusual Mechanism for an Aminomutase Rearrangement: Retention of Configuration at the Migration Termini. Biochemistry 46(34), 9785-9794. Link to publication
Klettke, K.L., Sanyal, S., Mutatu W., Walker, K.D. 2007. β-Styryl- and β-Aryl-β-alanine Products of Phenylalanine Aminomutase Catalysis. J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 129(22):6988-9. Link to publication. SYNFACT of the Month. (SYNFACT highlights compelling scientific constributions made to journals of organic chemistry.)
Loncaric, C., Ward, A.F., Walker K.D. 2007. Expression of an Acetyl-CoA Synthase and a CoA-transferase in Escherichia coli to Produce Modified Taxanes In vivo. Biotechnol. J. 2(2):266-74. Link to publication
Loncaric, C., Merriweather, E., and Walker, K.D. 2006. Profiling a Taxol Pathway 10β-Acetyltransferase: Assessment of the Specificity and the Production of Baccatin III by In Vivo Acetylation in E. coli, Chem. Biol. 13: 309-317. Link to publication
Walker, K.D., Klettke, K., Akiyama, T., and Croteau, R. 2004. Cloning, heterologous expression, and characterization of a phenylalanine aminomutase involved in taxol biosynthesis, J. Biol. Chem. 279: 53947-53954. Link to publication
Jennewein, S., Wildung, M.R., Chau, M., Walker, K., and Croteau, R. 2004. Random Sequencing of an Induced Taxus Cell cDNA Library for Identification of Clones Involved in Taxol Biosynthesis, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101, 9149-9154. Link to publication
Croteau, R.B., Walker, K.D., Schoendorf, A., and Wildung, M.R. 2003. Cloning of Transacylases of the Paclitaxel Biosynthetic Pathway in Taxus. pp. 135, Cont-in-part of U S Ser No 866,570, (Washington State University Research Foundation, USA). Application: U.S.
Walker, K., Long, R., and Croteau, R. 2002. The Final Acylation Step in Taxol Biosynthesis: Cloning of the Taxoid C13-Side Chain N-Benzoyltransferase. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99, 9166-9171.
Walker, K., Fujisaki, S., Long, R., and Croteau, R. 2002. Molecular Cloning and Heterologous Expression of the C-13 Phenylpropanoid Side Chain-CoA Acyltransferase that Functions in Taxol Biosynthesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99, 12715-12720.
Walker, K., and Croteau, R. 2000. Taxol Biosynthesis: Molecular Cloning of a Benzoyl-CoA:Taxane 2α-O-Benzoyltransferase cDNA from Taxus and Functional Expression in Escherichia coli, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97, 13591-13596.
Walker, K., and Croteau, R. 2000. Molecular Cloning of a 10-Deacetylbaccatin III-10-O-Acetyl Transferase cDNA from Taxus and Functional Expression in Escherichia coli, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97, 583-587.
Walker, K., Schoendorf, A., and Croteau, R. 2000. Molecular Cloning of a Taxa-4(20),11(12)-dien-5α-ol-O-acetyl transferase cDNA from Taxus and Functional Expression in Escherichia coli. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 374, 371-380.
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