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Enzyme kinetics and engineering strategies for sustainable alternative protein production: From plant and microbial systems to cultivated meat.

Advances in protein chemistry and structural biology · 14 November 2026 · DOI 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2026.08.008

The chapter examines how enzyme kinetics and engineering could improve proteins made from plants, microbes, algae, precision fermentation and animal cell culture, a key issue for product quality and scale-up. It reviews inhibition, catalysis and models for mixed protein substrates, alongside uses of transglutaminases, carbohydrases and lipases. It also assesses rational design, immobilisation, directed evolution, computational methods and links between kinetic models and bioreactors. The authors conclude that combining these tools can improve food properties and production efficiency, though the abstract reports no new experimental evidence.

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