close up of AlkB active site (IMAGE)
Caption
Active site: These closeups of the AlkB active site show how nine histidine amino acids (denoted as "H" in the left image) form a cavity (gray shaded region, right). This cavity guides the substrate (magenta) to the active site (near the two iron, Fe, atoms) in a single orientation, where only the terminal carbon-hydrogen bond can be cleaved. Modifying the enzyme to change the shape of this cavity could allow the enzyme to attack different C-H bonds.
Credit
Brookhaven National Laboratory
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