Synthesis of (2S,3R)-beta-methyltyrosine catalyzed by tyrosine phenol-lyase

A one-step enzymatic synthesis of the conformationally restrained tyrosine analog (2S,3R)-beta-methyltyrosine is reported. This synthesis extends the preparative chemistry associated with tyrosine phenol-lyase. This beta-methyltyrosine derivative was shown to be an efficient protein tyrosine kinase substrate, suggesting that conformational restraint may ultimately be used to enhance tyrosine kinase recognition of substrates.