PurN
PurN is a phosphoribosylglycinamide formyltransferase, an enzyme in de novo purine biosynthesis. It catalyzes the formylation of glycinamide ribonucleotide (GAR) to formylglycinamide ribonucleotide (FGAR) using 10-formyltetrahydrofolate as the one-carbon donor, releasing tetrahydrofolate. The reaction is GAR + 10-formyl-THF → FGAR + THF.
PurN is encoded by the purN gene in many bacteria and archaea and is a component of
Structure and mechanism: PurN belongs to the formyltransferase family; many bacterial PurN enzymes require metal ions
Biological role: As a step in the early purine ribonucleotide biosynthesis pathway, PurN supplies FGAR for
Clinical and research relevance: PurN is a potential target for antibiotics since it is essential in many