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Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenases (CAD) Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenases (CAD), members of the medium chain dehydrogenase/reductase family, reduce cinnamaldehydes to cinnamyl alcohols in the last step of monolignal metabolism in plant cells walls. CAD binds 2 zinc ions and is NADPH- dependent. CAD family members are also found in non-plant species, e.g. in yeast where they have an aldehyde reductase activity. The medium chain dehydrogenases/reductase (MDR)/zinc-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase-like family, which contains the zinc-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH-Zn) and related proteins, is a diverse group of proteins related to the first identified member, class I mammalian ADH. MDRs display a broad range of activities and are distinguished from the smaller short chain dehydrogenases (~ 250 amino acids vs. the ~ 350 amino acids of the MDR). The MDR proteins have 2 domains: a C-terminal NAD(P) binding-Rossmann fold domain of a beta-alpha form and an N-terminal catalytic domain with distant homology to GroES. The MDR group contains a host of activities, including the founding alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), quinone reductase, sorbitol dehydrogenase, formaldehyde dehydrogenase, butanediol DH, ketose reductase, cinnamyl reductase, and numerous others. The zinc-dependent alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) catalyze the NAD(P)(H)-dependent interconversion of alcohols to aldehydes or ketones. Active site zinc has a catalytic role, while structural zinc aids in stability. ADH-like proteins typically form dimers (typically higher plants, mammals) or tetramers (yeast, bacteria), and generally have 2 tightly bound zinc atoms per subunit. The active site zinc is coordinated by a histidine, two cysteines, and a water molecule. The second zinc seems to play a structural role, affects subunit interactions, and is typically coordinated by 4 cysteines. |
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