Publications
Promiscuity-Guided Enzyme Evolution via Substrate Multiplexed Screening
H. Weilbaker, M. E. Campbell, P. M. Higgins, and A. R. Buller, Angewandte Chemie International Edition ((2026): e00007.
Enzymatic Metal–Hydrogen Atom Transfer with a Cobalt Protoporphyrin Cofactor
Carly L. Masonheimer, Michael J. Rourke, Reece S. Gardner, Ryan L. Hall, Lydia J. Perkins, Thomas C. Brunold, and Andrew R. Buller Journal of the American Chemical Society 2026 148 (5), 5443-5452
Highly Sensitive Detection of Tyrosine and Neurotransmitters by Stereoselective Biosynthesis and Photochemically Induced Dynamic Nuclear Polarization
Shapla, U. M.; Smith, J. L.; Halder, A.; Thompson, L.; Buller, A. R.; Cavagnero, S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025.
Active site diversification of a non-canonical amino acid decarboxylase by merging substrate multiplexed screening with computationally guided recombination
McDonald, A. D.; Ellis, J. M.; Steger-Wilson, L.; Campbell, M. E.; Buller, A. R. Protein Science 2025, 34 (11), e70356.
Enhanced Stereochemical Analysis of β-Diastereomeric Amino Acids with Variants of Marfey’s Reagent
Studinski, C. I.; Powers, M. K.; Martin, B. K.; Mosconi, A. L.; Abraham, J. A.; Koss, K. R.; Bruffy, S. K.; Campbell, M. E.; Buller, A. R.; Willoughby, P. H. ACS Omega 2025, 10 (43), 51677–51685.
Biocatalytic synthesis of β-hydroxy tryptophan regioisomers
Bruffy, S. K.; Samuel, H.; Weilbaker, H. A.; Buller, A. R. Org. Biomol. Chem. 2025, 23 (43), 9857–9861.
Cobalt-Substituted Hemoprotein Expression
Rodemeier, M. E.; Holsinger, O. P.; Buller, A. R. In Methods in Enzymology; Academic Press, 2025.
Promiscuity Guided Evolution of Decarboxylative Aldolases for Synthesis of Tertiary γ-Hydroxy Amino Acids
M. E. Campbell, A. R. Ohler, M. J. McGill, A. R. Buller, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, 64, e202422109.
Chemoenzymatic Cascade Synthesis of Metal-Chelating α-Amino Acids
S. H. Young, J. S. Andon, J. Lim, M. C. Franke, D. J. Weix, T. Wang, A. R. Buller. ChemCatChem 2025, e202401958.
Substrate-Multiplexed Assessment of Aromatic Prenyltransferase Activity
Peyton M. Higgins, Nicolette G. Wehrli, Andrew R. Buller, ChemBioChem 2024, e202400680.
Biocatalytic asymmetric aldol addition into unactivated ketones
Bruffy, S.K., Meza, A., Soler, J. et al. Nat. Chem. (2024).
Elucidation of the Stereochemical Mechanism of Cystathionine γ-Lyase Reveals How Substrate Specificity Constrains Catalysis
Anna Zmich, Lydia J. Perkins, Craig Bingman, and Andrew R. Buller. ACS Catalysis 2024 14 (15), 11196-11204
Molecular Determinants of Efficient Cobalt-Substituted Hemoprotein in E. coli
Weaver, B.R.; Perkins, L.J.; Fernandez Candelaria, F.O.; Burstyn, J.N.; Buller, A.R. ACS Synth. Biol. 2023.
Engineered Biocatalytic Synthesis of β-N-Substituted-⍺-Amino Acids
Villalona, J.; Higgins, P.M.; Buller, A.R. Angewandte Chemie. 2023, e202311
Multiplexed Assessment of Promiscuous Non-Canonical Amino Acid Synthase Activity in a Pyridoxal Phosphate-Dependent Protein Family
Zmich, A.; Perkins, L.J.; Bingman, C.; Acheson, J.F.; Buller, A.R. ACS Catal. 2023, 11644–11655
Engineering Enzyme Substrate Scope Complementarity for Promiscuous Cascade Synthesis of 1,2-Amino Alcohols
McDonald, A.D.; Bruffy, S.K.; Kasat, A.T.; Buller, A.R. Angewandte Chemie. 2022, e202212637
Substrate multiplexed protein engineering facilitates promiscuous biocatalytic synthesis
McDonald, A.D.; Higgins, P.M.; Buller, A.R. Nat Comm. 2022, 13, 5242
Efficient Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of α-Aryl Aldehydes as Intermediates in C–C Bond Forming Biocatalytic Cascades
Meza, A.; Campbell, M. E.; Zmich, A.; Thein, S. A.; Grieger, A. M.; McGill, M. J.; Willoughby, P. H.; Buller, A. R. ACS Catal. 2022, 12 (17), 10700–10710.
Investigation of β-substitution activity of O-acetylserine sulfhydrolase from Citrullus vulgaris
Smith, J. L.; Harrison, I. M.; Bingman, C. A.; Buller, A. R. ChemBioChem 2022, 23 (14), e202200157.
Site-selective deuteration of amino acids through dual-protein catalysis
Doyon, T.J.; Buller, A.R. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022. 144, 16, 7327-7336.
Biocatalytic synthesis of non-standard amino acids by a decarboxylative aldol reaction
Ellis, J.M.; Campbell, M.E.; Kumar, P.; Geunes, E.P.; Bingman, C.A.; Buller, A.R. Nat Catal.5, 136–143 (2022)
Scalable and selective β-hydroxy-α-amino acid synthesis catalyzed by promiscuous L-threonine transaldolase ObiH
Doyon, T.J.; Kumar, P.; Thein, S.; Kim, M.; Stitgen, A.; Grieger, A.M.; Madigan, C.; Willoughby, P.H.; Buller, A.R. ChemBioChem. 2021
De novo biosynthesis of a nonnatural cobalt porphyrin cofactor in E. coli and incorporation into hemoproteins
Perkins, L.J.; Weaver, B.R.; Buller, A.R.; Burstyn, J.N. PNAS. 2021
L-Threonine transaldolase activity is enabled by a persistent catalytic intermediate
Kumar, P.; Meza, A.; Ellis, J. M.; Carlson, G. A.; Bingman, C. A.; Buller, A. R. ACS Chemical Biology. 2020
Modular control of L-tryptophan isotopic substitution via an efficient biosynthetic cascade
Thompson, C.; McDonald, A.; Yang, H.; Cavagnero, S.; Buller, A. R. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry. 2020
Facile in vitro biocatalytic production of diverse tryptamines
McDonald, A.; Perkins, L.; Buller, A. R. ChemBioChem 2019.
Other Publications
2025
Brousseau, M.; Dash, T.; Rourke, M. J.; Kurauskas, V.; Tonelli, M.; Hibbs, K. M.; Buller, A. R.; Marty, M. T.; Henzler-Wildman, K. A. 18-Crown-6-Ether Utilizes Distinct Allosteric Interactions to Uncouple Transport by the Multidrug Efflux Pump EmrE. Biochemistry 2025, 64 (18), 3956–3970. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.5c00348.
2024
Sanders, K. M.; Bruffy, S. K.; Buller, A. R.; Petříček, V.; Guzei, I. A. Occupational Modulation in the (3+1)-Dimensional Incommensurate Structure of (2S,3S)-2-Amino-3-Hydroxy-3-Methyl-4-Phenoxybutanoic Acid Dihydrate. Acta Cryst C 2024, 80 (9), 523–533. https://doi.org/10.1107/S2053229624007009.
2020
Beasley, M., Lumley, M., Janicki, T., Fernandez, R., Manger, L., Tucholski, T., Thomas, N., Whitmire, L., Lawson, A., Buller, A.R. J. Chem. Educ. 2020, 97, 3, 643–650. Student-Led Climate Assessment Promotes a Healthier Graduate School Environment. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00611
2019
Patel KD, d’Andrea FB, Gaudelli NM, Buller AR, Townsend CA, Gulick AM. Nat Commun. 2019 Aug 27;10(1):3868. Structure of a bound peptide phosphonate reveals the mechanism of nocardicin bifunctional thioesterase epimerase-hydrolase half-reactions. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11740-6
2018
Kan, S. B. J.; Garcia-Borràs, M.; Lewis, R. D.; Houk, K. N.; Chalkley, M. J.; Buller, A. R.; Arnold, F. H. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2018, 115 (28), 7308. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807027115
Buller A.R, van Roye P., Cahn J.KB, Scheele R.A, Herger M., Arnold F.H. 2018. Directed Evolution Mimics Allosteric Activation by Stepwise Tuning of the Conformational Ensemble. Journal of the American Chemical Society. doi.org/10.1021/jacs.8b03490
Boville C.E, Scheele R.A, Koch P., Brinkmann-Chen S., Buller A.R, Arnold F.H. 2018. Engineered Biosynthesis of beta-Alkyl Tryptophan Analogues. Angewandte Chemie-International Edition. 57:14764-14768. doi.org/10.1002/anie.201807998
2017
Prier C.K, Zhang R.K, Buller A.R, Brinkmann-Chen S., Arnold F.H. 2017. Enantioselective, intermolecular benzylic C-H amination catalysed by an engineered iron-haem enzyme. Nature Chemistry. 9:629-634. doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2783
2016
Cahn J.KB, Brinkmann-Chen S., Buller A.R, Arnold F.H. 2016. Artificial domain duplication replicates evolutionary history of ketol-acid reductoisomerases. Protein ScienceProtein Science. 25:1241-1248. doi.org/10.1002/pro.2852
Murciano-Calles J., Romney D.K, Brinkmann-Chen S., Buller A.R, Arnold F.H. 2016. A Panel of TrpB Biocatalysts Derived from Tryptophan Synthase through the Transfer of Mutations that Mimic Allosteric Activation. Angewandte Chemie-International Edition. 55:11577-11581. doi.org/10.1002/anie.201606242
Herger M., van Roye P., Romney D.K, Brinkmann-Chen S., Buller A.R, Arnold F.H. 2016. Synthesis of beta-Branched Tryptophan Analogues Using an Engineered Subunit of Tryptophan Synthase. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 138:8388-8391. doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6b04836
Buller A.R, van Roye P., Murciano-Calles J., Arnold F.H. 2016. Tryptophan Synthase Uses an Atypical Mechanism To Achieve Substrate Specificity. Biochemistry. 55:7043-7046. doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.6b01127
2015
Cahn J.KB, Brinkmann-Chen S., Spatzal T., Wiig J.A, Buller A.R, Einsle O., Hu Y.L, Ribbe M.W, Arnold F.H. 2015. Cofactor specificity motifs and the induced fit mechanism in class I ketol-acid reductoisomerases. Biochemical Journal. 468:475-484. doi.org/10.1042/bj20150183
Marous D.R, Lloyd E.P, Buller A.R, Moshos K.A, Grove T.L, Blaszczyk A.J, Booker S.J, Townsend C.A. 2015. Consecutive radical S-adenosylmethionine methylations form the ethyl side chain in thienamycin biosynthesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 112:10354-10358. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1508615112
Buller A.R, Brinkmann-Chen S., Romney D.K, Herger M., Murciano-Calles J., Arnold F.H. 2015. Directed evolution of the tryptophan synthase beta-subunit for stand-alone function recapitulates allosteric activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 112:14599-14604. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1516401112
McIntosh J.A, Heel T., Buller A.R, Chio L., Arnold F.H. 2015. Structural Adaptability Facilitates Histidine Heme Ligation in a Cytochrome P450. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 137:13861-13865. doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5b07107
2014
Hyster T.K, Farwell C.C, Buller A.R, McIntosh J.A, Arnold F.H. 2014. Enzyme-Controlled Nitrogen-Atom Transfer Enables Regiodivergent C-H Amination. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 136:15505-15508. doi.org/10.1021/ja509308v
Buller A.R, Freeman M.F, Schildbach J.F, Townsend C.A. 2014. Exploring the Role of Conformational Heterogeneity in cis-Autoproteolytic Activation of ThnT. Biochemistry. 53:4273-4281. doi.org/10.1021/bi500385d
2013
Buller A.R, Townsend C.A. 2013. Intrinsic evolutionary constraints on protease structure, enzyme acylation, and the identity of the catalytic triad. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 110:E653-E661. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1221050110
2012
Buller A.R, Labonte J.W, Freeman M.F, Wright N.T, Schildbach J.F, Townsend C.A. 2012. Autoproteolytic Activation of ThnT Results in Structural Reorganization Necessary for Substrate Binding and Catalysis. Journal of Molecular Biology. 422:508-518. doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2012.06.012
Buller A.R, Freeman M.F, Wright N.T, Schildbach J.F, Townsend C.A. 2012. Insights into cis-autoproteolysis reveal a reactive state formed through conformational rearrangement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 109:2308-2313. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1113633109
2008
Bassuk A.G, Wallace R.H, Buhr A., Buller A.R, Afawi Z., Shimojo M., Miyata S., Chen S., Gonzalez-Alegre P., Griesbach H.L et al.. 2008. A Homozygous Mutation in Human PRICKLE1 Causes an Autosomal-Recessive Progressive Myoclonus Epilepsy-Ataxia Syndrome. American Journal of Human Genetics. 83:572-581. doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.10.003