TY - JOUR
T1 - Biosynthesis of the modified tetrapyrroles—the pigments of life
AU - Bryant, Donald A.
AU - Hunter, C. Neil
AU - Warren, Martin J.
N1 - Funding Information:
3 Supported by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UK) Grants BB/N00924X/1 and BB/S002197/1. To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: [email protected].
Funding Information:
2 Supported by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UK) Grant BB/M000265/1. To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: [email protected].
Funding Information:
1 Studies in this author?s laboratory were supported by Photosynthetic Systems Program, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences (CSGB), Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the United States Department of Energy Grant DE-FG02-94ER20137 and United States National Science Foundation Grant MCB-1613022. 2 Supported by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UK) Grant BB/M000265/1. 3 Supported by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UK) Grants BB/N00924X/1 and BB/S002197/1.
Funding Information:
1Studies in this author’s laboratory were supported by Photosynthetic Sys-tems Program, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosci-ences (CSGB), Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the United States Depart-ment of Energy Grant DE-FG02-94ER20137 and United States National Science Foundation Grant MCB-1613022. To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: [email protected].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Bryant et al. Published by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
PY - 2020/5/15
Y1 - 2020/5/15
N2 - Modified tetrapyrroles are large macrocyclic compounds, consisting of diverse conjugation and metal chelation systems and imparting an array of colors to the biological structures that contain them. Tetrapyrroles represent some of the most complex small molecules synthesized by cells and are involved in many essential processes that are fundamental to life on Earth, including photosynthesis, respiration, and catalysis. These molecules are all derived from a common template through a series of enzyme-mediated transformations that alter the oxidation state of the macrocycle and also modify its size, its side-chain composition, and the nature of the centrally chelated metal ion. The different modified tetrapyrroles include chlorophylls, hemes, siroheme, corrins (including vitamin B12), coenzyme F430, heme d1, and bilins. After nearly a century of study, almost all of the more than 90 different enzymes that synthesize this family of compounds are now known, and expression of reconstructed operons in heterologous hosts has confirmed that most pathways are complete. Aside from the highly diverse nature of the chemical reactions catalyzed, an interesting aspect of comparative biochemistry is to see how different enzymes and even entire pathways have evolved to perform alternative chemical reactions to produce the same end products in the presence and absence of oxygen. Although there is still much to learn, our current understanding of tetrapyrrole biogenesis represents a remarkable biochemical milestone that is summarized in this review.
AB - Modified tetrapyrroles are large macrocyclic compounds, consisting of diverse conjugation and metal chelation systems and imparting an array of colors to the biological structures that contain them. Tetrapyrroles represent some of the most complex small molecules synthesized by cells and are involved in many essential processes that are fundamental to life on Earth, including photosynthesis, respiration, and catalysis. These molecules are all derived from a common template through a series of enzyme-mediated transformations that alter the oxidation state of the macrocycle and also modify its size, its side-chain composition, and the nature of the centrally chelated metal ion. The different modified tetrapyrroles include chlorophylls, hemes, siroheme, corrins (including vitamin B12), coenzyme F430, heme d1, and bilins. After nearly a century of study, almost all of the more than 90 different enzymes that synthesize this family of compounds are now known, and expression of reconstructed operons in heterologous hosts has confirmed that most pathways are complete. Aside from the highly diverse nature of the chemical reactions catalyzed, an interesting aspect of comparative biochemistry is to see how different enzymes and even entire pathways have evolved to perform alternative chemical reactions to produce the same end products in the presence and absence of oxygen. Although there is still much to learn, our current understanding of tetrapyrrole biogenesis represents a remarkable biochemical milestone that is summarized in this review.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084787733&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1074/jbc.REV120.006194
DO - 10.1074/jbc.REV120.006194
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32241908
AN - SCOPUS:85084787733
VL - 295
SP - 6888
EP - 6925
JO - Journal of Biological Chemistry
JF - Journal of Biological Chemistry
SN - 0021-9258
IS - 20
ER -