The 1.8 A resolution structure of hydroxycinnamoyl-coenzyme A hydratase-lyase (HCHL) from Pseudomonas fluorescens, an enzyme that catalyses the transformation of feruloyl-coenzyme A to vanillin.

The crystal structure of hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL) from Pseudomonas fluorescens AN103 has been solved to 1.8 A resolution. HCHL is a member of the crotonase superfamily and catalyses the hydration of the acyl-CoA thioester of ferulic acid [3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-phenyl)prop-2-enoic acid] and the subsequent retro-aldol cleavage of the hydrated intermediate to yield vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde).

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of hydroxycinnamoyl-coenzyme A hydratase-lyase (HCHL), a crotonase homologue active in phenylpropanoid metabolism.

4-Hydroxycinnamoyl-coenzyme A hydratase-lyase (HCHL), also called feruloyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (FCHL), from Pseudomonas fluorescens strain AN103 is an enzyme of the crotonase superfamily that catalyses the one-step conversion of the CoA thioesters of 4-coumaric acid, caffeic acid and ferulic acid to the aromatic aldehydes 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, protocatechuic aldehyde and vanillin, respectively. The reaction occurs via a hydration followed by a carbon-carbon bond-cleavage reaction. HCHL has been crystallized by the hanging-drop method of vapour diffusion using polyethylene glycol 20 000 Da as the precipitant.