Erin S. Reynolds

Calcium Activation Mechanism of a Noncanonical Aromatic L-Amino Acid Decarboxylase from Psilocybin Mushroom

Research Square April 28, 2025 Yi Wang, Tianjie Li, Erin S. Reynolds et al. preprint

Abstract PcncAAAD is a calcium-activatable noncanonical aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AAAD) featuring a unique appendage C-terminal domain (CTD) and two metal-binding sites. In this study, we establish an in silico RMSD-based evaluation model through molecular dynamics simulations, validated by in vitro enzyme assays, to decipher the enzyme’s calcium activation mechanism. Between the two...