Is there an enzyme for the transformation of the hydroxyl group?

Question

I would like to know, is there any enzyme which does the transformation of hydroxyl group to any other functional group using the enzyme. The substrate is aromatic hydroxyl group. Product should not have hydroxyl group.How should these types of queries be searched for?

Answer 1

I do not think this has been observed in any known biological system. There are dehydrogenase enzymes that remove the proton to form a ketone. But I don't think this is what you are asking. However, the premise of removing the entire hydroxyl group would be difficult as the enzyme would need to transfer the OH group to another molecule Because these reactions would be unfavorable, the enzyme would need a catalyst or energy.

On a different side, that is not to say researchers are not working on enzymes that do this in a research lab. There is not a good that I know of to search for this information besides using Google Scholar. If you find something, please repost to this answer with anything that you have found. With so much research happening, it is difficult to stay updated on everything.