MITE: the Minimum Information about a Tailoring Enzyme database for capturing specialized metabolite biosynthesis.

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics
• Metabolomics

Background:

• Secondary metabolites possess diverse structures and biological activities crucial for clinical and industrial uses.
• Tailoring enzymes modify metabolite scaffolds, defining final structures and activity profiles.
• Information on tailoring enzyme specificity is fragmented across scientific literature.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present MITE (Minimum Information about a Tailoring Enzyme), a novel database for annotating tailoring enzymes.
• To consolidate and standardize information on substrate and reaction specificity of tailoring enzymes.
• To facilitate computational prediction and understanding of metabolite biosynthesis.

Main Methods:

• Developed MITE database with comprehensive annotation parameters for tailoring enzymes.
• Utilized reaction SMARTS (Simplified Molecular Input Line Entry System Arbitrary Target Specification) for defining substrate and reaction specificity.
• Integrated MITE with existing bioinformatics resources for enhanced usability.

Main Results:

• MITE provides a human- and machine-readable knowledge base for tailoring enzymes.
• The database defines enzyme specificity using the expressive SMARTS chemical pattern language.
• MITE supports applications in in silico biosynthesis and machine learning for metabolite research.

Conclusions:

• MITE standardizes and centralizes critical information on tailoring enzymes.
• The database enhances the study of metabolite biosynthesis and engineering.
• MITE is an open, community-driven resource promoting collaborative research in the field.