Project 2 Prof. Susana Andrade

Novel flavoproteins of medical and ecological relevance

Flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are important or-ganic cofactors that derive from riboflavin and are typically used in redox reactions by all living organisms. These molecules can be directly monitored by a variety of spectroscopic tools (e.g. UV-visible absorption, fluorescence emission, electron paramagnetic resonance or electrochemistry) and therefore the influence of the protein environment and of external factors on their redox properties, can be analyzed in high detail.

The main subjects of this project are two flavoproteins that share the same cofactor, FAD, but display distinct functions.
One of these is a L-amino acid oxidase with strong pharmaceutical potential and the other, a soluble subunit in a multiprotein membrane system that likely assembles as a periplasmic oxidoreductase complex with interesting bio-remediation applications.