Formylmethanofuran-tetrahydromethanopterin N-formyltransferase

In enzymology, a formylmethanofuran-tetrahydromethanopterin N-formyltransferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction


 * formylmethanofuran + 5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin $$\rightleftharpoons$$ methanofuran + 5-formyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin

Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are formylmethanofuran and 5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin, whereas its two products are methanofuran and 5-formyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin.

This enzyme belongs to the family of transferases, specifically those acyltransferases transferring groups other than aminoacyl groups. The systematic name of this enzyme class is formylmethanofuran:5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin 5-formyltransferase. Other names in common use include formylmethanofuran-tetrahydromethanopterin formyltransferase, formylmethanofuran:tetrahydromethanopterin formyltransferase, N-formylmethanofuran(CHO-MFR):tetrahydromethanopterin(H4MPT), formyltransferase, FTR, formylmethanofuran:5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin, and N5-formyltransferase. This enzyme participates in folate biosynthesis.

Structural studies
As of late 2007, 5 structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes, , , , and.