D-amino acid oxidases signature

D-amino acid oxidase (EC 1.4.3.3) (DAMOX or DAO) is an FAD flavoenzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of neutral and basic D-amino acids into their corresponding keto acids. DAOs have been characterized and sequenced in fungi and vertebrates where they are known to be located in the peroxisomes.

D-aspartate oxidase (EC 1.4.3.1) (DASOX) [1] is an enzyme, structurally related to DAO, which catalyzes the same reaction but is active only toward dicarboxylic D-amino acids.

In DAO, a conserved histidine has been shown [2] to be important for the enzyme's catalytic activity. We have used the conserved region around this residue as a signature pattern for these enzymes.