The MutT pyrophosphohydrolase is a prototypical NUDIX hydrolase that catalyzes the hydrolysis of nucleoside and deoxynucleoside triphosphates (NTPs and dNTPs) by substitution at a beta-phosphorus to yield a nucleotide monophosphate (NMP) and inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi). This enzyme requires two divalent cations for activity; one coordinates the phosphoryl groups of the NTP/dNTP substrate, and the other coordinates to the enzyme. It also contains the NUDIX motif, a highly conserved 23-residue block (GX5EX7REUXEEXGU, where U = I, L or V), that functions as metal binding and catalytic site. MutT pyrophosphohydrolase is important in preventing errors in DNA replication by hydrolyzing mutagenic nucleotides such as 8-oxo-dGTP (a product of oxidative damage), which can mispair with template adenine during DNA replication, to guanine nucleotides.
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