Identification and Characterization of the First Ovothiol Biosynthetic Enzyme

Ovothiols are histidine-derived thiols that were first isolated from marine invertebrates. We have identified a 5-histidylcysteine sulfoxide synthase (OvoA) as the first ovothiol biosynthetic enzyme and characterized OvoAs from Erwinia tasmaniensis and Trypanosoma cruzi. Homologous enzymes are encoded in more than 80 genomes ranging from proteobacteria to animalia.