What is "fluorinase"

The fluorinase enzyme (, also known as adenosyl-fluoride synthase) catalyzes the reaction between fluoride ion and the co-factor S -adenosyl-L-methionine to generate L-methionine and 5'-fluoro-5'-deoxyadenosine, the first committed product of the fluorometabolite biosynthesis pathway. The fluorinase was originally isolated from the soil bacterium Streptomyces cattleya, but homologues have since been identified in a number of other bacterial species, including Streptomyces sp. MA37, Nocardia brasiliensis and Actinoplanes sp. N902-109. This is the only known enzyme capable of catalysing the formation of a carbon-fluorine bond, the strongest single bond in organic chemistry. A homologous chlorinase enzyme, which catalyses the same reaction with chloride rather than fluoride ion, has been isolated from Salinospora tropica, from the biosynthetic pathway of salinosporamide A.