Biphenyl Hydrolase Like Protein (BPHL)

The serine hydrolases, including BPHL, are defined as a functional class of hydrolytic enzymes that contain a serine residue in their active site. They can be grouped into subfamilies that contain closely related members in terms of substrate specificity or amino acid sequence similarity.

The deduced 274-amino acid protein shows significant sequence similarity to prokaryotic enzymes involved in the degradation of aromatic compounds; the highest identities, about 25%, are to 4 serine hydrolases encoded by the bphD genes of different strains of Pseudomonas, all of which degrade biphenyl derivatives. Recombinant BPHL protein demonstrated serine hydrolase activity that was abolished by a covalent inhibitor of serine hydrolases.