YihQ is a sulfoquinovosidase that cleaves sulfoquinovosyl diacylglyceride sulfolipids
February 15th, 2016 by Gaetano Speciale
Nature Chemical Biology 12, 215 (2016). doi:10.1038/nchembio.2023
Authors: Gaetano Speciale, Yi Jin, Gideon J Davies, Spencer J Williams & Ethan D Goddard-Borger
Sulfoquinovose is produced by photosynthetic organisms at a rate of 1010 tons per annum and is degraded by bacteria as a source of carbon and sulfur. We have identified Escherichia coli YihQ as the first dedicated sulfoquinovosidase and the gateway enzyme to sulfoglycolytic pathways. Structural and mutagenesis studies unveiled the sequence signatures for binding the distinguishing sulfonate residue and revealed that sulfoquinovoside degradation is widespread across the tree of life.