A subfamily of PLP-dependent enzymes specialized in handling terminal amines

AT-II enzymes are widespread in biology and play mostly catabolic roles. Furthermore, today several transaminases in this group are being used as bioorganic tools for the asymmetric synthesis of chiral amines. We present an overview of the biochemical and structural features of these enzymes, illustrating how they are distinctive and how they compare with those of the other fold-type I enzymes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cofactor-dependent proteins: evolution, chemical diversity and bio-applications.