The thiamin diphosphate-dependent enzyme 1-deoxy-
d
-xylulose 5-phosphate
synthase (DXPS) catalyzes the formation of DXP from pyruvate (donor) and
d
-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (
d
-GAP, acceptor). DXPS is essential in
bacteria but absent in human metabolism, highlighting it as a potential antibacterial
drug target. The enzyme possesses unique structural and mechanistic features that enable
development of selective inhibition strategies and raise interesting questions about
DXPS function in bacterial pathogens. DXPS distinguishes itself within the ThDP enzyme
class by its exceptionally large active site and random sequential mechanism in DXP
formation. In addition, DXPS displays catalytic promiscuity and relaxed acceptor
substrate specificity, yet previous studies have suggested a preference for pyruvate as
the donor substrate when
d
-GAP is the acceptor substrate. However, such donor
specificity studies are potentially hindered by a lack of knowledge about specific,
alternative donor–acceptor pairs. In this study, we exploited the promiscuous
oxygenase activity of DXPS to uncover alternative donor substrates for DXPS.
Characterization of glycolaldehyde, hydroxypyruvate, and ketobutyrate as donor
substrates revealed differences in stabilization of enzyme-bound intermediates and
acceptor substrate usage, illustrating the influence of the donor substrate on reaction
mechanism and acceptor specificity. In addition, we found that DXPS prevents abortive
acetyl-ThDP formation from a DHEThDP carbanion/enamine intermediate, similar to
transketolase, supporting the potential physiological relevance of this intermediate on
DXPS. Taken together, these results offer clues toward alternative roles for DXPS in
bacterial pathogen metabolism.