Bacterial Glutathione S-Transferases and the Detoxification of Xenobiotics: Dehalogenation through Glutathione Conjugation and Beyond

Several dozen sequences of bacterial glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are now known, mainly as the result of whole genome sequencing efforts. So far, only a minority of bacterial GSTs have been characterized at the biochemical level. Some GSTs were shown to catalyze dehalogenation reactions, and several others also appear to be associated with metabolic pathways for the degradation of halogenated xenobiotic compounds. The modest sequence similarity observed between bacterial members of this protein family further suggests that they may catalyze a wide range of glutathione-dependent reactions within the conserved canonical GST structural framework. Characterization of the physiological function of bacterial GSTs and of the bacterial metabolism associated with glutathione conjugation reactions will be the key for the implementation of strategies for the detoxification of xenobiotics based on GSTs in bacteria.