NOVEL METAL SITES IN PROTEIN STRUCTURES

Recently, the three-dimensional structures of several novel metalloenz ymes have been solved. Of special interest are those containing uncomm on and/or not well characterized metals such as molybdenum, tungsten, nickel, vanadium and cobalt, Modulated by the protein environment, the specific properties of these metals and of special metal-binding cofa ctors such as siroheme and topa quinone are used to catalyze a vast ar ray of fascinating reactions.