Alkylmercury lyase

In enzymology, an alkylmercury lyase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction


 * an alkylmercury + H+ $$\rightleftharpoons$$ an alkane + Hg2+

Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are alkylmercury and H+, whereas its two products are alkane and Hg2+.

This enzyme belongs to the family of lyases, specifically the "catch-all" class of lyases that do not fit into any other sub-class. The systematic name of this enzyme class is alkylmercury mercuric-lyase (alkane-forming). Other names in common use include organomercury lyase, organomercurial lyase, and alkylmercury mercuric-lyase.

Structural studies
As of late 2007, only one structure has been solved for this class of enzymes, with the PDB accession code.