Many bacteria and archaea produce the redox cofactor F420. F420 is structurally similar to the cofactors FAD and FMN but is catalytically more similar to NAD and NADP. These properties allow F420 to catalyze challenging redox reactions, including key steps in methanogenesis, antibiotic biosynthesis and xenobiotic biodegradation. In the last 5 years, there has been much progress in understanding its distribution, biosynthesis, role and applications. Whereas F420 was previously thought to be confined to Actinobacteria and Euryarchaeota, new evidence indicates it is synthesized across the bacterial and archaeal domains, as a result of extensive horizontal and vertical biosynthetic gene transfer. F420 was thought to be synthesized through one biosynthetic pathway; however, recent advances have revealed variants of this pathway and have resolved their key biosynthetic steps. In parallel, new F420-dependent biosynthetic and metabolic processes have been discovered. These advances have enabled the heterologous production of F420 and identified enantioselective F420H2-dependent reductases for biocatalysis. New research has also helped resolve how microorganisms use F420 to influence human and environmental health, providing opportunities for tuberculosis treatment and methane mitigation. A total of 50 years since its discovery, multiple paradigms associated with F420 have shifted, and new F420-dependent organisms and processes continue to be discovered.

中文翻译：

---

辅因子 F420：其分布、生物合成以及在细菌和古细菌中的作用的扩展视图。


许多细菌和古细菌产生氧化还原辅因子 F420。 F420 在结构上与辅因子 FAD 和 FMN 相似，但在催化作用上与 NAD 和 NADP 更相似。这些特性使 F420 能够催化具有挑战性的氧化还原反应，包括产甲烷、抗生素生物合成和外源生物降解中的关键步骤。在过去的五年里，人们在了解其分布、生物合成、作用和应用方面取得了很大进展。虽然 F420 以前被认为仅限于放线菌和广古菌，但新证据表明，由于广泛的水平和垂直生物合成基因转移，它是在细菌和古菌领域合成的。 F420被认为是通过一种生物合成途径合成的；然而，最近的进展揭示了该途径的变体，并解决了其关键的生物合成步骤。与此同时，新的 F420 依赖性生物合成和代谢过程也被发现。这些进展使得 F420 的异源生产成为可能，并鉴定了用于生物催化的对映选择性 F420H2 依赖性还原酶。新的研究还帮助解决了微生物如何利用 F420 影响人类和环境健康的问题，为结核病治疗和甲烷减排提供了机会。自发现以来总共 50 年，与 F420 相关的多个范式已经发生转变，并且新的依赖于 F420 的生物体和过程不断被发现。