Elucidation of methanogenic coenzyme biosyntheses: From spectroscopy to genomics

David E. Graham, Robert H. White

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

101 Scopus citations

Abstract

Methanogenesis, the anaerobic production of methane from CO2 or simple carbon compounds, requires seven organic coenzymes. This review describes pathways for the biosynthesis of methanofuran, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin, coenzyme F420, coenzyme M (2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid) and coenzyme B (7-mercaptoheptanoyl-L-threonine phosphate). Spectroscopic evidence for the pathways is reviewed and recent efforts are described to identify and characterize the biosynthetic enzymes from methanogenic archaea. The literature from 1971 to September 2001 is reviewed, and 169 references are cited.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)133-147
Number of pages15
JournalNatural Product Reports
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2002
Externally publishedYes

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