Answers to the Carbon–Phosphorus Lyase Conundrum

Organophosphonates are widespread in nature, and their catabolic pathways are of great importance for many microorganisms. In a remarkable series of biochemical experiments, Raushel and co‐workers reconstituted the carbon–phosphorus lyase activity, which cleaves the CP bond of 5‐phospho‐α‐ D ‐ribosyl‐methylphosphonate to produce methane and a cyclic phosphodiester in a reaction that requires S‐adenosylmethionine and a [4Fe–4S] cluster.