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Mercaptoethane sulfonate or coenzyme M (CoM) is the smallest known organic cofactor and is most commonly associated with the methane-forming step in all methanogenic archaea but is also associated with the anaerobic oxidation of methane to CO 2 in anaerobic methanotrophic archaea and the oxidation of short-chain alkanes in Syntrophoarchaeum species. It has also been found in a small number of bacteria capable of the metabolism of small organics. Although many of the steps for CoM biosynthesis in methanogenic archaea have been elucidated, a complete pathway for the biosynthesis of CoM in archaea or bacteria has not been reported. Here, we present the complete CoM biosynthesis pathway in bacteria, revealing distinct chemical steps relative to CoM biosynthesis in methanogenic archaea. The existence of different pathways represents a profound instance of convergent evolution. The five-step pathway involves the addition of sulfite, the elimination of phosphate, decarboxylation, thiolation, and the reduction to affect the sequential conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate to CoM. The salient features of the pathway demonstrate reactivities for members of large aspartase/fumarase and pyridoxal 5′-phosphate–dependent enzyme families.

For nearly 30 years, coenzyme M (CoM) was assumed to be present solely in methanogenic archaea. In the late 1990s, CoM was reported to play a role in bacterial propene metabolism, but no biosynthetic pathway for CoM has yet been identified in bacteria. Here, using bioinformatics and proteomic approaches in the metabolically versatile bacterium Xanthobacter autotrophicus Py2, we identified four putative CoM biosynthetic enzymes encoded by the xcbB1, C1, D1, and E1 genes. Only XcbB1 was homologous to a known CoM biosynthetic enzyme (ComA), indicating that CoM biosynthesis in bacteria involves enzymes different from those in archaea. We verified that the ComA homolog produces phosphosulfolactate from phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), demonstrating that bacterial CoM biosynthesis is initiated similarly as the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent methanogenic archaeal pathway. The bioinformatics analysis revealed that XcbC1 and D1 are members of the aspartase/fumarase superfamily (AFS) and that XcbE1 is a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-containing enzyme with homology to d-cysteine desulfhydrases. Known AFS members catalyze β-elimination reactions of succinyl-containing substrates, yielding fumarate as the common unsaturated elimination product. Unexpectedly, we found that XcbC1 catalyzes β-elimination on phosphosulfolactate, yielding inorganic phosphate and a novel metabolite, sulfoacrylic acid. Phosphate-releasing β-elimination reactions are unprecedented among the AFS, indicating that XcbC1 is an unusual phosphatase. Direct demonstration of phosphosulfolactate synthase activity for XcbB1 and phosphate β-elimination activity for XcbC1 strengthened their hypothetical assignment to a CoM biosynthetic pathway and suggested functions also for XcbD1 and E1. Our results represent a critical first step toward elucidating the CoM pathway in bacteria.