Institute of Plant Biology, Technical University Braunschweig, Humboldtstraße 1, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
Molecules. 2024 Sep 20;29(18):4458. doi: 10.3390/molecules29184458.
Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential micronutrient across all kingdoms of life, where it functions as a key component of the active centers of molybdenum-dependent enzymes. For these enzymes to gain catalytic activity, Mo must be complexed with a pterin scaffold to form the molybdenum cofactor (Moco). The final step of Moco biosynthesis is catalyzed by the enzyme Mo-insertase. This review focuses on eukaryotic Mo-insertases, with an emphasis on those found in plants and mammals, which have been instrumental in advancing the understanding of Mo biochemistry. Additionally, a historical perspective is provided, tracing the discovery of Mo-insertase from the early 1960s to the detailed characterization of its reaction mechanism in 2021. This review also highlights key milestones in the study of Mo-insertase, including mutant characterization, gene cloning, structural elucidation at the atomic level, functional domain assignment, and the spatial organization of the enzyme within cellular protein networks.
钼（Mo）是所有生命领域的必需微量元素，它作为钼依赖酶的活性中心的关键组成部分发挥作用。为了使这些酶获得催化活性，钼必须与蝶呤支架复合形成钼辅因子（Moco）。Moco 生物合成的最后一步由酶钼插入酶催化。本综述重点介绍真核生物钼插入酶，特别强调在植物和哺乳动物中发现的钼插入酶，这些酶在推进钼生物化学理解方面发挥了重要作用。此外，还提供了历史视角，追溯了从 20 世纪 60 年代早期发现钼插入酶到 2021 年详细阐明其反应机制的历程。本综述还强调了钼插入酶研究中的关键里程碑，包括突变体表征、基因克隆、原子水平的结构阐明、功能域分配以及酶在细胞蛋白网络中的空间组织。
