A growing subset of metalloenzymes activates dioxygen with nonheme diiron active sites to
effect substrate oxidations that range from the hydroxylation of methane and the …

Vegetable oils rich in oleic acid are more desirable than oils rich in polyunsaturated and
saturated fatty acids. The biological switch of oleic acid to linoleic acid is facilitated by fatty …

Lipids are an essential constituent of all plant cells. The vegetative cells of plants contain-5
to 10% lipid by dry weight, and almost all of this weight is found in the membranes. Although …

In recent years, significant progress has been made in understanding the geometric and
electronic structures of the active sites of non-heme iron enzymes and the contributions of …

▪ Abstract Fatty acid desaturases introduce a double bond in a specific position of long-chain
fatty acids, and are conserved across kingdoms. Degree of unsaturation of fatty acids affects …

The polyunsaturated fatty acids linoleate and alpha-linolenate are important membrane
components and are the essential fatty acids of human nutrition. The major enzyme …

▪ Abstract Desaturation of a fatty acid first involves the enzymatic removal of a hydrogen from
a methylene group in an acyl chain, a highly energy-demanding step that requires an …

The 2.2 Å crystal structure of the 251K α2β2γ2 dimeric hydroxylase protein of methane mono-
oxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) reveals the geometry of the catalytic di …

Dioxygen activation by metalloenzymes generally proceeds through one of two
fundamentally different routes. Some enzymes, such as the ferric ion containing intradiol …

Fatty acid desaturases are enzymes that introduce double bonds into fatty acyl chains. They
are present in all groups of organisms, ie, bacteria, fungi, plants and animals, and play a key …