Biochemistry and genetics of chloramphenicol production

Biosynthesis of halogenated metabolites by bacteria

Halogenated metabolites, originally thought to be infrequent in nature, are actually nothing unusual at all, and are produced by many different organisms, including bacteria. Whereas marine bacteria usually produce brominated compounds, terrestrial bacteria preferentially synthesize chlorometabolites, but fluoro- and iodometabolites can also be found. Haloperoxidases, enzymes capable of catalyzing the formation of carbon halogen bonds in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and halide ions (Cl-, Br- and I-) have been isolated and characterized from different bacteria. These enzymes turned out to be very unspecific and are obviously not the type of halogenating enzymes responsible for the formation of halometabolites in bacteria. A yet-unknown type of halogenating enzyme having both substrate and regio-specificity must be involved in the biosynthesis of halogenated compounds.