Cyanase

In molecular biology, cyanase (EC 4.2.1.104, also known as cyanate hydratase or cyanate lyase) is an enzyme which catalyses the bicarbonate dependent metabolism of cyanate to produce ammonia and carbon dioxide. The systematic name of this enzyme is carbamate hydrolyase. In E. coli, cyanase is an inducible enzyme and is encoded for by the cynS gene. Cyanate is a toxic anion, and cyanase catalyzes the metabolism into the benign products of carbon dioxide and ammonia. In molecular biology, cyanase (EC 4.2.1.104, also known as cyanate hydratase or cyanate lyase) is an enzyme which catalyses the bicarbonate dependent metabolism of cyanate to produce ammonia and carbon dioxide. The systematic name of this enzyme is carbamate hydrolyase. In E. coli, cyanase is an inducible enzyme and is encoded for by the cynS gene. Cyanate is a toxic anion, and cyanase catalyzes the metabolism into the benign products of carbon dioxide and ammonia. Cyanase catalyzes the metabolic conversion of toxic cyanate to carbamate (H2NCOO−). The enzyme does this by first catalyzing the conversion of cyanate to carbamate, which then spontaneously decomposes to carbon dioxide and ammonia: