Biosynthesis of 1-aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid: steric course of the reaction at the α-position
Abstract
By using a regiospecifically dideuteriated form of the substrate it is shown that the enzymic conversion of (S)-adenosylmethionine (SAM) into 1-aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid (ACC) involves an inversion at the α-carbon centre, a feature rarely observed for other pyridoxal phosphate-dependent reactions.