Emergence of oxygen- and pyridoxal phosphate-dependent reactions

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) is an organic cofactor employed by ~ 4% of enzymes. The structure of the PLP cofactor allows for the stabilization of carbanions through resonance. A small number of PLP-dependent enzymes employ molecular oxygen as a cosubstrate. Here, we review the biological roles and possible mechanisms of these enzymes, and we observe that these enzymes are found in multiple protein families, suggesting that reaction with oxygen might have emerged de novo in several protein families and thus could be directed to emerge again through laboratory evolution experiments.