Haloferax volcanii PitA: an example of functional interaction between the Pfam chlorite dismutase and antibiotic biosynthesis monooxygenase families?

A curious fusion between chlorite dismutase-like and antibiotic biosynthesis monooxygenase-like domains within a single open reading frame has been revealed by both sequence homology and structural modeling in Haloferax volcanii PitA and its homologues in other halophilic archaea. While this fusion may reflect an environmental adaptation to life in hypersaline environments and hence one specific to haloarchaea, PitA and its homologues may represent a paradigm of biologically-relevant interplay between these two distinct activities in accordance with the Rosetta Stone approach.