Structural and functional properties of glutamate dehydrogenases

Glutamate dehydrogenases are homooligomeric enzymes that catalyse the reversible oxidative deamination of glutamate to 2-oxoglutarate, thereby linking nitrogen metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Four different classes of the enzyme are known in microbes that differ in size and cofactor specificity. Despite some common features, the kinetic properties of the enzymes from different species vary considerably. We consider the relationship between the sequences, those structures that are available and the enzyme kinetics in the context of the metabolic role of the enzyme