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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Anaerobic Protein Purification and Kinetic Analysis via Oxygen Electrode for Studying DesB Dioxygenase Activity and Inhibition
Published on: October 3, 2018
A point mutation converts dihydroneopterin aldolase to a cofactor-independent oxygenase
Yi Wang1, Gwynyth Scherperel, Kade D Roberts
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824, USA.
Abstract:
Dihydroneopterin aldolase (DHNA) catalyzes the conversion of 7,8-dihydroneopterin (1) to 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin (4) in the folate biosynthetic pathway. Substitution of a conserved tyrosine residue at the active site of DHNA by phenylalanine converts the enzyme to a cofactor-independent oxygenase, which generates mainly 7,8-dihydroxanthopterin (6) rather than 4. 6 is generated via the same enol intermediate as in the wild-type enzyme-catalyzed reaction, but this species undergoes an oxygenation reaction to form 6. The conserved tyrosine residue plays only a minor role in the formation of the enol reaction intermediate but a critical role in the protonation of the enol intermediate to form 4.
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