Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39979323›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Structural insights into S-lignin O-demethylation via a rare class of heme peroxygenase enzymes.

Alix C Harlington, Tuhin Das, Keith E Shearwin, Stephen G Bell, Fiona Whelan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Alix C HarlingtonDepartment of Molecular and Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4350-9352
Tuhin DasDepartment of Chemistry, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4360-5619
Keith E ShearwinDepartment of Molecular and Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7736-2742
Stephen G BellDepartment of Chemistry, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia. stephen.bell@adelaide.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7457-9727
Fiona WhelanDepartment of Molecular and Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia. fiona.whelan@adelaide.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0791-6850

Funding

Department of Education and Training | Australian Research Council (ARC) DP200102411Department of Education and Training | Australian Research Council (ARC) DP230103062
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The O-demethylation of lignin aromatics is a rate-limiting step in their bioconversion to higher-value compounds. A recently discovered cytochrome P450, SyoA, demethylates the S-lignin aromatic syringol. In this work, we solve high-resolution X-ray crystal structures of substrate-free and substrate-bound SyoA and evaluate demethylation of para-substituted S-lignin aromatics via monooxygenase and peroxide shunt pathways. We find that SyoA demethylates S-lignin aromatics exclusively using the peroxide shunt pathway. The atomic-resolution structures reveal the position of non-canonical residues in the I-helix (Gln252, Glu253). Mutagenesis of this amide-acid pair in SyoA shows they are critical for catalytic activity. This work expands the enzymatic toolkit for improving the capacity to funnel lignin derived aromatics towards higher value compounds and defines the chemistry within the active site of the enzyme that enables peroxygenase activity. These insights provide a framework for engineering peroxygenase activity in other heme enzymes to generate easier to use biocatalysts.

Indexed as

Bacterial ProteinsCytochrome P-450 Enzyme SystemHemeLigninMixed Function OxygenasesCatalytic DomainCrystallography, X-RayDemethylationModels, MolecularBacterial ProteinsCytochrome P-450 Enzyme SystemHemeLigninMixed Function Oxygenasesperoxygenase

Identifiers

PMID39979323
PMCPMC11842817

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.