Bacterial methionine biosynthesis

Abstract

Methionine is essential in all organisms, as it is both a proteinogenic amino acid and a component of the cofactor, S-adenosyl methionine. The metabolic pathway for its biosynthesis has been extensively characterized in Escherichia coli; however, it is becoming apparent that most bacterial species do not use the E. coli pathway. Instead, studies on other organisms and genome sequencing data are uncovering significant diversity in the enzymes and metabolic intermediates that are used for methionine biosynthesis. This review summarizes the different biochemical strategies that are employed in the three key steps for methionine biosynthesis from homoserine (i.e. acylation, sulfurylation and methylation). A survey is presented of the presence and absence of the various biosynthetic enzymes in 1593 representative bacterial species, shedding light on the non-canonical nature of the E. coli pathway. This review also highlights ways in which knowledge of methionine biosynthesis can be utilized for biotechnological applications. Finally, gaps in the current understanding of bacterial methionine biosynthesis are noted. For example, the paper discusses the presence of one gene (metC) in a large number of species that appear to lack the gene encoding the enzyme for the preceding step in the pathway (metB), as it is understood in E. coli. Therefore, this review aims to move the focus away from E. coli, to better reflect the true diversity of bacterial pathways for methionine biosynthesis.