Acetyl coenzyme A synthase: new insights into one of Nature's bioorganometallic catalysts

摘要

The Ni-Fe-S proteins carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (COdH) and acetyl coenzyme A synthase (ACS) are enzymes crucial to the global carbon cycle, as they interconvert C1 entities, CO_2, CO, and CH_3 equivalent, via redox reactions that allow certain archae and eubacteria to grow autotrophically, fixing CO_2 via the Wood-Lijungdahl pathway for their anabolic metabolism [1]. The ancestry of the organisms may be traced to the time of the origin of life, with these enzymes representing Nature" earliest catalysts [2]. The redox reactions promoted by COdH and ACS, Eqs. 1 and 2, are reminiscent of the industrial water-gas shift and Monsanto acetic acid synthesis reactions, respectively, that may serve to connect the biological and organometallic communities while expanding the bioorganometallic paradigm beyond B_(12) chemistry [3].