FeII/α-ketoglutarate hydroxylases involved in nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide, and chromatin metabolism

FeII/α-ketoglutarate-dependent hydroxylases uniformly possess a double-stranded β-helix fold with two conserved histidines and one carboxylate coordinating their mononuclear ferrous ions. Oxidative decomposition of the α-keto acid is proposed to generate a ferryl–oxo intermediate capable of hydroxylating unactivated carbon atoms in a myriad of substrates. This Perspective focuses on a subgroup of these enzymes that are involved in pyrimidine salvage, purine decomposition, nucleoside and nucleotide hydroxylation, DNA/RNA repair, and chromatin modification. The varied reaction schemes are presented, and selected structural and kinetic information is summarized.