Posttranslational Peptide-Modification Enzymes in Action:Key Roles for Leaders and Glutamate

In this issue of Cell Chemical Biology, Ortega et al. (2016) determine the structure of another lantibiotic dehydratase with a tRNA(Glu)-dependent mechanism of modification. Moreover, they identify a common recognition motif involved in leader peptide binding in a number of different peptide-modification enzymes. These findings open up new mining possibilities and allow novel approaches in peptide engineering.