Para-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase inserts oxygen into substrates by means of the labile intermediate, flavin C(4a)-hydroperoxide. This reaction requires transient isolation of the flavin and substrate from the bulk solvent. Previous crystal structures have revealed the position of the substrate para-hydroxybenzoate during oxygenation but not how it enters the active site. In this study, enzyme structures with the flavin ring displaced relative to the protein were determined, and it was established that these or similar flavin conformations also occur in solution. Movement of the flavin appears to be essential for the translocation of substrates and products into the solvent-shielded active site during catalysis.

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Flavoproteins catalyze a diversity of fundamental redox reactions and are one of the most studied enzyme families1,2. As monooxygenases, they are universally thought to control oxygenation by means of a peroxyflavin species that transfers a single atom of molecular oxygen to an organic substrate1,3,4. Here we report that the bacterial flavoenzyme EncM5,6 catalyzes the peroxyflavin-independent oxygenation-dehydrogenation dual oxidation of a highly reactive poly(β-carbonyl). The crystal structure of EncM with bound substrate mimics coupled with isotope labeling studies reveal previously unknown flavin redox biochemistry. We show that EncM maintains an unanticipated stable flavin oxygenating species, proposed to be a flavin-N5-oxide, to promote substrate oxidation and trigger a rare Favorskii-type rearrangement that is central to the biosynthesis of the antibiotic enterocin. This work provides new insight into the fine-tuning of the flavin cofactor in offsetting the innate reactivity of a polyketide substrate to direct its efficient electrocyclization.

Biosynthesis of the DNA base thymine depends on activity of the enzyme thymidylate synthase (TS) to catalyze the methylation of the uracil moiety of 2’-deoxyuridine-5’-monophosphate (dUMP). All known thymidylate synthases (TSs) rely on an active site residue of the enzyme to activate dUMP1, 2. This functionality has been demonstrated for classical TSs, including human TS, and is instrumental in mechanism-based inhibition of these enzymes. Here we report the first example of thymidylate biosynthesis that occurs without an enzymatic nucleophile. This unusual biosynthetic pathway occurs in organisms containing the thyX gene, which codes for a flavin-dependent thymidylate synthase (FDTS), and is present in several human pathogens3–5. Our findings indicate that the putative active site nucleophile is not required for FDTS catalysis, and no alternative nucleophilic residues capable of serving this function can be identified. Instead, our findings suggest that a hydride equivalent (i.e. a proton and two electrons) is transferred from the reduced flavin cofactor directly to the uracil ring, followed by an isomerization of the intermediate to form the product, 2’-deoxythymidine-5’-monophosphate (dTMP). These observations indicate a very different chemical cascade than that of classical TSs or any other known biological methylation. The findings and chemical mechanism proposed here, together with available structural data, suggest that selective inhibition of FDTSs, with little effect on human thymine biosynthesis, should be feasible. Since several human pathogens depend on FDTS for DNA biosynthesis, its unique mechanism makes it an attractive target for antibiotic drugs.

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