%X Transaminase enzymes are well established biocatalysts that are used in chemical synthesis due to their beneficial sustainability profile, regio- and stereoselectivity and substrate specificity. Here, the use of a wild-type Chromobacterium violaceum transaminase (CvTAm) in enzyme cascades revealed the formation of a novel hydroxystyryl pyridine product. Subsequent studies established it was a transaminase mediated reaction where it was exhibiting apparent aldolase reactivity. This promiscuous enzyme reaction mechanism was then explored using other wild-type transaminases and via the formation of CvTAm mutants. Application of one pot multi-step enzyme cascades was subsequently developed to produce a range of hydroxystyryl pyridines. %O © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). %I Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) %J Catalysis Science & Technology %L discovery10189515 %D 2024 %T A transaminase-mediated aldol reaction and applications in cascades to styryl pyridines %A Helen C Hailes %A Yu Wang %A Yiwen Li %A Yeke Ni %A Dejan-Kresimir Bucar %A Paul A Dalby %A John M Ward %A Jack Jeffries