title: The thiolase superfamily: condensing enzymes with diverse reaction specificities.
abstract: The formation of a carbon-carbon bond is an essential step in the biosynthetic pathways by which fatty acids and polyketides are made. The thiolase superfamily enzymes catalyse this carbon-carbon-bond formation via a thioester-dependent Claisen-condensation-reaction mechanism. In this way, fatty-acid chains and polyketides are made by sequentially adding simple building blocks, such as acetate units, to the growing molecule. A common feature of these enzymes is a reactive cysteine residue that is transiently acylated in the catalytic cycle. The wide catalytic diversity of the thiolase superfamily enzymes is of great interest. In particular, the type-III polyketide synthases make complicated compounds of great biological importance using multiple, subsequent condensation reactions, which are all catalysed in the same active-site cavity. The crucial metabolic importance of the bacterial fatty-acid-synthesizing enzymes stimulates in-depth studies that aim to develop efficient anti-bacterial drugs.
authors.affiliation: Biocenter Oulu and Department of Biochemistry, University of Oulu, PO Box 3000, FIN-90014, Finland.
authors.forename: Antti M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Haapalainen
authors.forename: Gitte
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meriläinen
authors.forename: Rik K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wierenga
mesh_terms: D000217:Acyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002384:Catalysis; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013885:Thiosulfates / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D013885:Thiosulfates; D000217:Acyltransferases