%A Gurmeet Kaur
%A Srikrishna Subramanian
%J Journal of structural biology
%T Repurposing TRASH: emergence of the enzyme organomercurial lyase from a non-catalytic zinc finger scaffold.
%X The mercury resistance pathway enzyme organomercurial lyase (MerB) catalyzes the conversion of organomercurials to ionic mercury (Hg(2+)). Here, we provide evidence for the emergence of this enzyme from a TRASH-like, non-enzymatic, treble-clef zinc finger ancestor by domain duplication and fusion. Surprisingly, the structure-stabilizing metal-binding core of the treble-clef appears to have been repurposed in evolution to serve a catalytic role. Novel enzymatic functions are believed to have evolved from ancestral generalist catalytic scaffolds or from already specialized enzymes with catalytic promiscuity. The emergence of MerB from a zinc finger ancestor serves as a rare example of how a novel enzyme may emerge from a non-catalytic scaffold with a related binding function.
%N 1
%K Domain duplication; Domain fusion; Enzyme evolution; MerA; MerH; NosL; Promiscuous enzymes
%P 16-21
%V 188
%D 2014
%I Elsevier
%L open1561