L-fuculose-phosphate aldolase (FucA) catalyses the cleavage of L-fuculose-1-phosphate to dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and L-lactaldehyde , a conversion from a six carbon unit to a three carbon unit. FucA is a homotetramer with 215 amino acid residues and one zinc ion per subunit.
The enzymatic activity is dependent upon on the presence of a metal ion, a characteristic of the enzyme class II aldolases, to which FucA belongs. These aldolases are of great interest to synthetic chemists for the their ability to catalyse the stereoselective synthesis of sugars in a much cleaner reaction than that possible by classical organic synthesis.
Defined by 6 residues: GLU:A-73HIS:A-92HIS:A-94TYR:A_3-113HIS:A-155TYR:A_3-209