The adenylation (A) domain of NRPS recognizes a specific amino acid or hydroxy acid and activates it as an (amino) acyl adenylate by hydrolysis of ATP. The activated acyl moiety then forms a thioester bond to the enzyme-bound cofactor phosphopantetheine of a peptidyl carrier protein domain. NRPSs are large multifunctional enzymes which synthesize many therapeutically useful peptides in bacteria and fungi via a template-directed, nucleic acid independent nonribosomal mechanism. These natural products include antibiotics, immunosuppressants, plant and animal toxins, and enzyme inhibitors. NRPS has a distinct modular structure in which each module is responsible for the recognition, activation, and in some cases, modification of a single amino acid residue of the final peptide product. The modules can be subdivided into domains that catalyze specific biochemical reactions.
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