| Type: | Family | Name: | Oxygen-dependent choline dehydrogenase |
| Description: | Choline dehydrogenase catalyses the conversion of exogenously supplied choline into the intermediate glycine betaine aldehyde, as part of a two-step oxidative reaction leading to the formation of osmoprotectant betaine. This enzymatic system can be found in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. As in Escherichia coli[], Staphylococcus xylosus[], and Rhizobium meliloti(Sinorhizobium meliloti) [], this enzyme is found associated in a transcriptionally co-induced gene cluster with betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase, the second catalytic enzyme in this reaction. Other Gram-positive organisms have been shown to employ a different enzymatic system, utilising a soluble choline oxidase or type III alcohol dehydrogenase instead of choline dehydrogenase []. This enzyme is a member of the GMC oxidoreductase family, sharing a common evolutionary origin and enzymatic reaction with alcohol dehydrogenase []. Out grouping from this model, Caulobacter crescentus(Caulobacter vibrioides) shares sequence homology with choline dehydrogenase, yet other genes participating in this enzymatic reaction have not currently been identified. | Short Name: | BetA |
