56755-22-7Relevant articles and documents
Ergothioneine biosynthetic methyltransferase EgtD reveals the structural basis of aromatic amino acid betaine biosynthesis
Vit, Allegra,Misson, La?titia,Blankenfeldt, Wulf,Seebeck, Florian P.
, p. 119 - 125 (2015/03/03)
Ergothioneine is an N-α-trimethyl-2-thiohistidine derivative that occurs in human, plant, fungal, and bacterial cells. Biosynthesis of this redox-active betaine starts with trimethylation of the α-amino group of histidine. The three consecutive methyl transfers are catalyzed by the S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferase EgtD. Three crystal structures of this enzyme in the absence and in the presence of N-α-dimethylhistidineand S-adenosylhomocysteine implicate a preorganized array of hydrophilic interactions as the determinants for substrate specificity and apparent processivity. We identified two active site mutations that change the substrate specificity of EgtD 107-fold and transform the histidine-methyltransferase into a proficient tryptophan-methyltransferase. Finally, a genomic search for EgtD homologues in fungal genomes revealed tyrosine and tryptophan trimethylation activity as a frequent trait in ascomycetous and basidomycetous fungi.
Betaines derived from amino and hydrazino acids as phase transfer catalysts
Goldberg, Yuri,Abele, Edgars,Bremanis, Gunars,Trapenciers, Peteris,Gaukhman, Alexander,Popelis, Juris,Gomtsyan, Artur,Kalvins, Ivars,Shymanska, Mariya,Lukevics, Edmunds
, p. 1911 - 1922 (2007/10/02)
Betaines derived from α-, β- and γ-amino acids (obtained by alkylation of the corresponding amino acids with O-methyl-N.N'- diisopropylisourea) as well as β-hydrazino acids (prepared by dehydrohalogenative hydrolysis of methyl 3-(2-alkyl-2,2-dimethylhydra
