The flavoprotein-catalyzed reduction of aliphatic nitro-compounds represents a biocatalytic equivalent to the Nef-reaction

The bioreduction of aliphatic sec-nitro compounds catalyzed by purified flavoproteins from the old-yellow-enzyme family unexpectedly furnished the corresponding carbonyl compounds instead of the expected amines and thus represents a biocatalytic equivalent to the Nef-reaction. The pathway was shown to proceed via initial reduction of the nitro-group to yield the nitroso-derivative, which spontaneously tautomerized to yield the more stable oxime, which was enzymatically reduced in a second step to furnish a hydrolytically unstable imine-species, which spontaneously hydrolyzed to finally give a carbonyl compound and ammonia.