Salmonella entericasynthesizes 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazolyl-(DMB)-α-riboside. Why some Firmicutes do not require the canonical DMB activation system to synthesize adenosylcobalamin

What is it about?

We have found an enzyme involved in B12 synthesis that has a strong preference for an intermediate of the pathway. The availability of this enzyme led to the discovery of a previously unknown metabolic capability of microorganisms that make this coenzyme. This work opens the door for the use of genetic approaches to the identification of the genes encoding enzymes responsible for the synthesis of this new intermediate.

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