Unexpected roles of aromatic ring-cleaving dioxygenases in oxygen-heterocycle degradation: Functional diversity, gene redundancy, and ecological implications.
This work demonstrates that classical aromatic ring-cleaving dioxygenases mediate the cellular cleavage of 2-hydroxytetrahydrofuran (2-OH THF), a key intermediate in THF metabolism, to yield 4-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), and establishes a novel catalytic route for cyclic ether degradation in aquatic systems.