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Catalytic promiscuity and the evolution of new enzymatic activities
1Department of Biochemistry, B400 Beckman Center, Stanford, CA 94305-5307, USA.
Chemistry & Biology
|April 1, 1999
Abstract:
Several contemporary enzymes catalyze alternative reactions distinct from their normal biological reactions. In some cases the alternative reaction is similar to a reaction that is efficiently catalyzed by an evolutionary related enzyme. Alternative activities could have played an important role in the diversification of enzymes by providing a duplicated gene a head start towards being captured by adaptive evolution.