Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Ergothioneine and ovothiol A are sulfur-containing histidine derivatives produced by microorganisms including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Trypanosoma cruzi or Erwinia amylovora and may also play important roles in human physiology. Based on our recent identification of thiohistidine biosynthetic enzymes from Mycobacterium smegmatis and Erwinia tasmaniensis we investigate several aspects of sulfur-based redox biochemistry. For example, we are characterizing the catalytic mechanism of two thiohistidine biosynthetic enzymes which afford O2-dependent sulfur insertion into the C(5)-H and C(2)-H bonds of the imidazolyl side chain of histidine.
Author: Florian P. Seebeck
Institution: University of Basel
Language: English
Subfield: Pharmacology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4212784331
