Methyl halide transferase (, ''MCT'', methyl chloride transferase, ''S-adenosyl-L-methionine:halide/bisulfide methyltransferase'', ''AtHOL1'', ''AtHOL2'', ''AtHOL3'', ''HMT'', ''S-adenosyl-L-methionine: halide ion methyltransferase'', ''SAM:halide ion methyltransferase'') is an
enzyme
An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...
with
systematic name
A systematic name is a name given in a systematic way to one unique group, organism, object or chemical substance, out of a specific population or collection. Systematic names are usually part of a nomenclature.
A semisystematic name or semitrivi ...
''S-adenosylmethionine:iodide methyltransferase''.
This enzyme
catalyses the following
chemical reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemistry, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an Gibbs free energy, ...
:
''S''-adenosyl-L-methionine +
iodide
An iodide ion is Iā. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state ā1 are called iodides. In everyday life, iodide is most commonly encountered as a component of iodized salt, which many governments mandate. Worldwide, iodine deficiency ...
''S''-adenosyl-L-homocysteine +
methyl iodide
Iodomethane, also called methyl iodide, and commonly abbreviated "MeI", is the chemical compound with the formula CH3I. It is a dense, colorless, volatile liquid. In terms of chemical structure, it is related to methane by replacement of one h ...
This enzyme contributes to the
methyl halide
The monohalomethanes are organic compounds in which a hydrogen atom in methane is replaced by a halogen. They belong to the haloalkanes or to the subgroup of halomethanes.
The four common members are fluoromethane, chloromethane, bromomethane and ...
emissions from ''
Arabidopsis thaliana
''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small plant from the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa. Commonly found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land, it is generally ...
''.
Chloride transfer
The
salt marsh
A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...
plant ''Batis maritima'' contains the enzyme
methyl chloride transferase that catalyzes the synthesis of
chloromethane
Chloromethane, also called methyl chloride, Refrigerant-40, R-40 or HCC 40, is an organic compound with the chemical formula . One of the haloalkanes, it is a colorless, sweet-smelling, flammable gas. Methyl chloride is a crucial reagent in indu ...
(CH
3Cl) from S-adenosine-L-methionine and chloride.
This protein has been purified and expressed in ''
E. coli
''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escherichia'' that is commonly foun ...
'', and seems to be present in other organisms such as white rot fungi (''
Phellinus pomaceus
''Phellinus pomaceus'' is a plant pathogen particularly common on ''Prunus'' species. It is not aggressively pathogenic but can cause considerable decay in trees suffering from other stress factors. ''P. pomaceus'' is found in Europe as well as ar ...
''),
[ red algae ('' Endocladia muricata''), and the ice plant ('']Mesembryanthemum crystallinum
''Mesembryanthemum crystallinum'' (the common, 'crystalline' or 'crystallinum' iceplant, or simply 'iceplant') is a species of Annual plant, annual/perennial, Succulent plant, succulent flowering plant in the ''Mesembryanthemum'' genus of the Aiz ...
''), each of which is a known CH3Cl producer.
References
External links
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