Methanofuran
Methanofurans are a family of chemical compounds found in methanogenic archaea. These species feature a 2-aminomethylfuran linked to phenoxy group. At least three different end groups are recognized: R = tricarboxyheptanoyl, glutamyl-glutamyl, tricarboxy-2-hydroxyheptanoyl.Methanofuran converts to formylmethanofuran in an early stage of methanogenesis.
The enzyme formylmethanofuran dehydrogenase formylates methanofuran using, the primary C1 source in methanogenesis.Deformylation of MFR
The enzyme formylmethanofuran:tetrahydromethanopterin formyltransferase catalyzes the transfer of the formyl group from formylmethanofuran to N5 on tetrahydromethanopterin,. This enzyme has been crystallized; it contains no prosthetic group.
