Crotonase family

The crotonase family comprises mechanistically diverse proteins that share a conserved trimeric quaternary structure (sometimes a hexamer consisting of a dimer of trimers), the core of which consists of 4 turns of a (beta/beta/alpha)n superhelix.

Some enzymes in the superfamily have been shown to display dehalogenase, hydratase, and isomerase activities, while others have been implicated in carbon-carbon bond formation and cleavage as well as the hydrolysis of thioesters. However, these different enzymes share the need to stabilize an enolate anion intermediate derived from an acyl-CoA substrate. This is accomplished by two structurally conserved peptidic NH groups that provide hydrogen bonds to the carbonyl moieties of the acyl-CoA substrates and form an "oxyanion hole". The CoA thioester derivatives bind in a characteristic hooked shape and a conserved tunnel binds the pantetheine group of CoA, which links the 3'-phosphate ADP binding site to the site of reaction. Enzymes in the crotonase superfamily include: