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Natural Product Biosynthesis ‐ A Treasure Trove of Multitalented Flavoenzymes
Author(s) -
Moore Bradley
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.93.3
Subject(s) - flavin group , cofactor , hydroxylation , biosynthesis , natural product , chemistry , biochemistry , redox , flavin adenine dinucleotide , enzyme , organic chemistry
Biosynthetic enzymology is alive and well thanks to the bioinformatics explosion associated with the specialized metabolism of natural product chemicals. Nowhere is that more evident than with flavin‐dependent enzymes, which catalyze a remarkable diversity of biochemical reactions that only appear to be growing in number and wonderment as more natural product biosynthetic pathways are discovered and characterized. The ever versatile flavin cofactor supports a myriad of redox reactions that go well beyond simple hydroxylation and dehydrogenation reactions to support diverse oxidative reactions such as C–H activations, Baeyer‐Villiger ring expansions, oxidative Favorskii rearrangements, and perhalogenation reactions. In the case of the enterocin “favorskiiase”, new flavin biochemistry involving a previously unrecognized superoxidized flavin‐N5‐oxide cofactor is employed as the oxygenating species that may be more widespread in nature. Examples from the author's laboratory will highlight the growing appreciation for flavin as biology's most versatile cofactor.