Class I and II benzoyl-coenzyme A reductases offer a mild biological alternative to the alkali metal- and ammonia-dependent Birch reduction, a classical synthetic method for achieving dihydro additions to arenes. Here, the authors characterize double-cubane [8Fe-9S] and active site aqua-[4Fe-4S] clusters of a class I benzoyl-CoA reductase and provide evidence for a radical mechanism.
- Jonathan Fuchs
- Unai Fernández-Arévalo
- Matthias Boll
