Nitronate monooxygenase, a model for anionic flavin semiquinone intermediates in oxidative catalysis

Nitronate monooxygenase (NMO), formerly referred to as 2-nitropropane dioxygenase, is an FMN-dependent enzyme that uses molecular oxygen to oxidize (anionic) alkyl nitronates and, in the case of the enzyme from Neurospora crassa, (neutral) nitroalkanes to the corresponding carbonyl compounds and nitrite. Over the past 5 years, a resurgence of interest on the enzymology of NMO has driven several studies aimed at the elucidation of the mechanistic and structural properties of the enzyme. This review article summarizes the knowledge gained from these studies on NMO, which has been emerging as a model system for the investigation of anionic flavosemiquinone intermediates in the oxidative catalysis of organic molecules, and for the effect that branching of reaction intermediates has on both the kinetic parameters and isotope effects associated with enzymatic reactions. A comparison of the catalytic mechanism of NMO with other flavin-dependent enzymes that oxidize nitroalkane and nitronates is also presented.