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Snapshots Of Benzylsuccinate Synthase: Getting A Handle On Toluene Degradation
Author(s) -
Drennan Catherine L,
Funk Michael A
Publication year - 2016
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.30.1_supplement.390.1
Subject(s) - toluene , bioremediation , chemistry , atp synthase , yield (engineering) , bacteria , degradation (telecommunications) , enzyme , environmental chemistry , organic chemistry , computer science , biology , materials science , telecommunications , genetics , metallurgy
Anaerobic bacteria play a critical role in bioremediation of oil spills and industrial pollution. The first step in the anaerobic degradation of toluene, a major component of gasoline, is the addition of toluene to fumarate to yield benzylsuccinate. The enzyme responsible is benzylsuccinate synthase (BSS), a member of glycyl radical enzyme family, which uses free radical chemistry to break and form C‐H and C‐C bonds. Here, crystallographic snapshots of BSS are presented that allow us to consider how a glycyl radical enzyme can control substrate specificity to afford activation of the otherwise inert toluene molecule. Support or Funding Information This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. 0645960 (M.A.F.). C.L.D is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator.