The broadening of protein nuclear magnetic resonances in the spectra of the semiquinone forms of flavodoxins derived from Clostridium MP and Peptostreptococcus elsdenii relative to the resonances in the oxidized and reduced forms is highly selective. Spectra from both species of flavodoxin indicate that conformational differences between the oxidized and fully reduced states are minor and, cons...

Flavodoxins are a family of small FMN-binding proteins that commonly exist in prokaryotes. They utilize a non-covalently bound FMN molecule to act as the redox center during the electron transfer processes in various important biological pathways. Although extensive investigations were performed, detailed molecular mechanisms of cofactor binding and electron transfer remain elusive. Herein we r...

Helicobacter pylori flavodoxin was purified to homogeneity from cell extracts of strain NCTC 11637. The molecular weight of the protein was estimated by gel electrophoresis to be 18 kDa. Oxidized flavodoxin showed an absorption spectrum with maxima at 378 nm and 453 nm, and it was reduced to a neutral form of flavin semiquinone by the electrons generated in the oxidation of pyruvate. This coenz...

Pyruvate formate lyase (PFL) is characterized as an enzyme functional at anaerobic conditions, since the radical in the enzyme's active form is sensitive to oxygen. In this study, PFL and its activating enzyme from Escherichia coli were expressed in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain lacking pyruvate decarboxylase and having a reduced glucose uptake rate due to a mutation in the transcriptional ...

CYP175A1 is a thermostable P450 Monooxygenase from Thermus thermophilus HB27, demonstrating in vivo activity towards beta-carotene. Activity of CYP175A1 was reconstituted in vitro using artificial electron transport proteins. First results were obtained in the mixture with a crude Escherichia coli cell extract at 37 degrees C. In this system, beta-carotene was hydroxylated to beta-cryptoxanthin...

Isoprenoids, which are a large group of natural and chemical compounds with a variety of applications as e.g. fragrances, pharmaceuticals and potential biofuels, are produced via two different metabolic pathways, the mevalonate (MVA) pathway and the 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway. Here, we attempted to replace the endogenous MVA pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by a synthe...