| 1. What was the first thing you focused on to guide your development of a pathway(s)? | |
| E1 | The cyano groups can undergo hydrolysis to yield carboxylic acids. Anaerobically, tetracyanoethylene can serve as a final electron acceptor analogous to tetrachloroethylene. The cyano groups can get reduced to a methylene carbon and an amino group. The cyano group might behave as a pseudo halide |
| E2 | Detoxify cyanogen via nitrile hydratase. |
| E3 | May be very toxic to bugs!
Answer to questions of the check list: question 1: yes question 2: yes question 4: no question 5: yes (must exhibit high redox potential: currently checked as substrate for PCE dehalogenase!) |
| E4 | Looks like PCE --- make similar mechanism |
| 2. How did you proceed after your initial focus point? | |
| E1 | The latter possibility above would be analogous to tetrachloroethylene. After 3 consecutive 2 electron reductions, acrylonitrile is obtained and its metabolism is described in the UM-BBD. |
| E2 | - | E3 | answers to questions of the check list:
question 6: no question 7: no question 8a: yes |
| E4 | similar mechanism as PCE |