Evolution and Functional Diversification of Serine Racemase Homologs in Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Amino acid racemases catalyze the interconversion of L- and D-amino acids, maintaining intracellular levels of both D- and L-amino acids. While alanine and glutamate racemases are widespread in bacteria, serine racemase (SerR) is predominantly found in animals. Recently, homologs of animal SerR were reported in some bacterial genomes, but their evolutionary distribution and functional roles remain poorly understood. In this study, we cloned and expressed 20 SerR homologous genes from 13 bacterial species spanning five phyla and characterized their enzymatic activity. Six homologs exhibited serine dehydratase activity, while the remaining showed racemase activity with serine, aspartate, asparagine, or arginine. Notably, the SerR homologs from Parafannyhessea umbonata (Actinomycetota), Clost

SUBMITTER: Uda K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11850409 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature