PI: Anne Zaparucha

Flavin-dependent halogenases (FHals) catalyse the halogenation of electron-rich substrates, mainly aromatics. Halogenated compounds have many applications, as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals or as starting materials for the synthesis of complex molecules. By exploring sequenced bacterial diversity, we discovered and characterised XszenFHal, a new FHal from Xenorhabdus szentirmaii, a symbiotic bacterium of the entomopathogenic nematode.

The range of substrates of XszenFHal was examined and revealed activities towards tryptophan, indole and indole derivatives, leading to the formation of the corresponding 5-chlorinated products.¹

1. Domergue J., Erdmann D., Fossey-Jouenne A., Petit J.-L., Debard A., de Berardinis V., Vergne-Vaxelaire C., Zaparucha A.; XszenFHal, a novel tryptophane 5-halogenase from Xenorhabdus szentirmaii; App. Microbiol. Biotechnol. Express 2019, 9:175 ; DOI : 10.1186/s1356 8-019-0898-y