The rate constants for reduction of the f lavoenzyme, L-lactate oxidase, and a mutant (in which alanine 95 is replaced by glycine), by a series of para-substituted mandelates, in both the 2-1 H-and 2-2 H-forms, have been measured by rapid reaction spectrophotometry. In all cases, significant isotope effects ( 1 H͞ 2 H ؍ 3-7) on the rate constants of f lavin reduction were found, indicating that f lavin reduction is a direct measure of ␣-C-H bond breakage. The rate constants show only a small inf luence of the electronic characteristics of the substituents, but show a good correlation when combined with some substituent volume parameters. A surprisingly good correlation is found with the molecular mass of the substrate. The results are compatible with any mechanism in which there is little development of charge in the transition state. This could be a transfer of hydride to the f lavin N(5) position or a synchronous mechanism in which the ␣-C-H is formally abstracted as a H ؉ while the resulting charge is simultaneously neutralized by another event.L-Lactate oxidase is a newly studied member of the family of FMN-containing enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of ␣-hydroxyacids, comprising glycolate oxidase (EC 1.1.3.1), Llactate oxidase, L-lactate monooxygenase (EC 1.13.12.4), flavocytochrome b 2 (EC 1.1.2.3), long-chain ␣-hydroxyacid oxidase (EC 1.1.3.15), and L-mandelate dehydrogenase. A considerable amount of mechanistic work has been carried out with L-lactate monooxygenase and with flavocytochrome b 2 (for reviews, see refs. 1 and 2), which has been interpreted as supporting a carbanion mechanism, in which the substrate ␣-proton is abstracted by an active site base and the electrons from the resulting substrate carbanion are transferred to the flavin. The crystal structures of two of the family members, glycolate oxidase (3) and flavocytochrome b 2 (4), have been solved and show an arrangement of conserved protein residues surrounding the FMN prosthetic group and substrate that are consistent with such a carbanion mechanism. In these structures, the substrate is positioned on the si-face of the flavin with the carboxylate in ionic interaction with arginine residues and stabilized by H-bond interaction with a tyrosine residue (5). A conserved histidine residue is located so that the ␣-carbon of the substrate would be positioned between the flavin N(5) and the histidine N1. The histidine residue therefore has been envisaged as the active site base responsible for abstracting the proton from the ␣-position of the substrate, with concomitant attack of the highly nucleophilic carbanion on flavin N(5).While the crystal structures of only two of the family members are available so far, the amino acid sequences of all the enzymes are known: glycolate oxidase (6, 7), flavocytochrome b 2 (8), lactate monooxygenase (9), lactate oxidase (10), long chain ␣-hydroxyacid oxidase (11), and mandelate dehydrogenase (12, 13). All enzymes of the group show considerable homology, and all have the strictly conserved set o...