title: Complex biotransformations catalyzed by radical S-adenosylmethionine enzymes.
abstract: The radical S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) superfamily currently comprises thousands of proteins that participate in numerous biochemical processes across all kingdoms of life. These proteins share a common mechanism to generate a powerful 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical, which initiates a highly diverse array of biotransformations. Recent studies are beginning to reveal the role of radical AdoMet proteins in the catalysis of highly complex and chemically unusual transformations, e.g. the ThiC-catalyzed complex rearrangement reaction. The unique features and intriguing chemistries of these proteins thus demonstrate the remarkable versatility and sophistication of radical enzymology.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address: qizhang@sioc.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address: wliu@sioc.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001671:Biochemistry / Q000379:methods; D001711:Biotransformation; D002384:Catalysis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology; D005609:Free Radicals; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000737:chemistry; D008745:Methylation; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008982:Molybdenum / Q000737:chemistry; D012270:Ribosomes / Q000737:chemistry; D012436:S-Adenosylmethionine / Q000737:chemistry*; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D005609:Free Radicals; D012436:S-Adenosylmethionine; D008982:Molybdenum; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate