Biotin synthases for efficient production of biotin

A method of producing biotin comprising

• aligning a query sequence with a reference sequence, wherein the reference sequence is a known Type I biotin synthase (Type I BioB) holo-protein, preferably an E. coli K12 Type 1 biotin synthase holo-protein sequence (SEQ ID NO:
• 13), which reference sequence contains Serine at amino acid 43 (Ser-43) and Cysteine at amino acid 97 (Cys-97);
• identifying the amino acid of the query sequence corresponding to Ser-43 of the reference sequence to provide query corresponding amino acid 43;
• identifying the amino acid of the query sequence corresponding to Cys-97 of the reference sequence to provide query corresponding amino acid 97;
• classifying the query sequence as a Type II biotin synthase holo-protein if the query corresponding amino acid 43 is Cysteine and the query corresponding amino acid 97 is Serine to provide an identified Type II biotin synthase holo-protein sequence;
• contacting desthiobiotin with a protein having the amino acid sequence of the identified Type II biotin synthase holo-protein sequence in vitro under conditions effective to produce biotin;
• and recovering the biotin.