Nucleoside Phosphorylases make N7-xanthosine.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38684649.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-47287-4 and PMC identifier 11058261.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Modern, highly evolved nucleoside-processing enzymes are known to exhibit perfect regioselectivity over the glycosylation of purine nucleobases at N9. We herein report an exception to this paradigm. Wild-type nucleoside phosphorylases also furnish N7-xanthosine, a "non-native" ribosylation regioisomer of xanthosine. This unusual nucleoside possesses several atypical physicochemical properties such as redshifted absorption spectra, a high equilibrium constant of phosphorolysis and low acidity. Ultimately, the biosynthesis of this previously unknown natural product illustrates how even highly evolved, essential enzymes from primary metabolism are imperfect catalysts.
Medical subject headings
- Xanthines
- Pentosyltransferases
- Ribonucleosides