Description
This enzyme is a member of the FMN-dependent α-hydroxy-acid oxidase/dehydrogenase family. While all enzymes of this family oxidize the (S)-enantiomer of an α-hydroxy acid to an α-oxo acid, the ultimate oxidant (oxygen, intramolecular heme or some other acceptor) depends on the particular enzyme. This enzyme transfers the electron pair from FMNH2 to a component of the electron transport chain, most probably ubiquinone. It is part of a metabolic pathway in Pseudomonads that allows these organisms to utilize mandelic acid, derivatized from the common soil metabolite amygdalin, as the sole source of carbon and energy. The enzyme has a large active-site pocket and preferentially binds substrates with longer sidechains, e.g. 2-hydroxyoctanoate rather than 2-hydroxybutyrate. It also prefers substrates that, like (S)-mandelate, have β unsaturation, e.g. (indol-3-yl)glycolate compared with (indol-3-yl)lactate. Esters of mandelate, such as methyl (S)-mandelate, are also substrates.
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