Substrate specificity in enzymatic fluorination. The fluorinase from Streptomyces cattleya accepts 2'-deoxyadenosine substrates.

The fluorinase enzyme from Streptomyces cattleya displays an unusual ability in biocatalysis in that it forms a C-F bond. We now report that the enzyme will accept 2'-deoxyadenosine in place of adenosine substrates, and structural evidence reveals a reorganisation in hydrogen bonding to accommodate this substrate series. It emerges from this study that the enzyme does not require a planar ribose conformation of the substrate to catalyse C-F bond formation.