A massive protein superfamily uses radical chemistry to drive complex biological reactions
In short: Researchers have identified a novel protein superfamily of over 600 members, known as Radical SAM. These proteins generate highly reactive radical species by breaking down S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) using a unique iron-sulfur center. This discovery suggests that radical-based catalysis is an ancient, conserved mechanism used by nature to perform difficult chemical transformations.
These proteins facilitate diverse processes, including the synthesis of vitamins, antibiotics, and DNA precursors, as well as biodegradation. The researchers used iterative profile searches and advanced bioinformatics and information visualization to identify and analyze these proteins.
While the study identifies many members and predicts functions for unknown proteins, the specific biochemical roles of many identified proteins still require further characterization.
Why it matters: Nature uses a specialized, ancient chemical strategy to power some of the most difficult reactions in biology.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Research: Sofia (2001). Radical SAM, a novel protein superfamily linking unresolved steps in familiar biosynthetic pathways with radical mechanisms: functional characterization using new analysis and information visualization methods. Nucleic Acids Research.
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