Flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs) are one of the most important monooxygenase systems in Eukaryotes and have many important physiological functions. FMOs have also been found in bacteria; however, their physiological function is not known. Here, we report the identification and characterization of trimethylamine (TMA) monooxygenase, termed Tmm, from Methylocella silvestris, using a combin...

Trimethylamine (TMA) is an aliphatic tertiary amine produced by gut microbiota, starting from dietary precursors such as L-choline, L-carnitine and betaine. TMA its metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) are elevated in the plasma of cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients. Despite extensive literature on this topic, scientific community still divided which two molecules responsible for harmful...

Eight ionic liquids have been synthesized with the tetrachloroferrate anion and varying cations, general formula of [RA]+[FeCl4]? (R = –CH3, –CH2C6H5; A pyridine, benzimidazole, trimethylamine, triphenylphosphine).

UNLABELLED Bacteria release a wide diversity of small bioactive molecules that often correspond to secondary metabolites. Among them, volatile molecules produced under various growth conditions were shown to mediate cross-kingdom interactions with plants, nematodes, and fungi. Although the role of volatile compounds in bacterial biology is not well understood, recent reports indicated that they...

UNLABELLED Choline is a water-soluble nutrient essential for human life. Gut microbial metabolism of choline results in the production of trimethylamine (TMA), which upon absorption by the host is converted in the liver to trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO). Recent studies revealed that TMAO exacerbates atherosclerosis in mice and positively correlates with the severity of this disease in humans. Ho...

OBJECTIVE Experimental studies suggest that maternal hypercholesterolemia may be relevant for the early onset of cardiovascular disease in offspring. We investigated the effect of perinatal hypercholesterolemia on the atherosclerosis development in the offspring of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice and the underlying mechanism. APPROACH AND RESULTS Atherosclerosis and related parameters were st...

To characterize the contribution of the human flavin-containing monooxygenase form 3 (FMO3) in the metabolism and disposition of drugs and xenobiotics, we determined the single nucleotide polymorphisms in the coding region and adjacent splice junctions of FMO3 in 134 African Americans and 120 Caucasians from the United States. In the regions examined, DNA resequencing or high throughput MassEXT...