How individual enzymes evolved is relatively well understood. However, individual enzymes
rarely confer a physiological advantage on their own. Judging by its current state, the …

The substrate specificity of enzymes is bound to be imperfect, because of unavoidable
physicochemical limits. In extant metabolic enzymes, furthermore, such limits are seldom …

Promiscuity is the coincidental ability of an enzyme to catalyze its native reaction and
additional reactions that are not biological functions in the same active site. Promiscuity …

Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic human pathogen which can use host-derived L-
carnitine as sole carbon and energy source. Recently, an L-carnitine transporter (Aci1347) …

Whole exome sequencing was used to investigate the genetic cause of mitochondrial
disease in two siblings with a syndrome of congenital lamellar cataracts associated with …

Isomerization reactions are fundamental in biology. Lactate racemase, which isomerizes L-
and D-lactate, is composed of the LarA protein and a nickel-containing cofactor, the nickel …

Fermentative production of valuable substances is an economically competitive and
ecologically sustainable alternative to chemical synthesis, but it is often hampered by …

The amazing variability of plant metabolism and its rapid divergence during evolution pose
fundamental questions as to the driving forces, mechanisms, and players in metabolic …

The opportunistic human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii can grow with carnitine but its
metabolism, regulation and role in virulence remained elusive. Recently, we identified a …

The recruitment and evolutionary optimization of promiscuous enzymes is key to the rapid
adaptation of organisms to changing environments. Our understanding of the precise …