Diaminopimelate epimerase catalyses the isomerisation of L,L-dimaminopimelate to meso-DAP in the biosynthetic pathway leading from aspartate to lysine. It is a member of the broader family of PLP-independent amino acid racemases. Diaminopimelic acid is an essential component of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. Diaminopimelate epimerase utilises a pair of cysteine residues in catalysis, as seen in other non-PLP dependent alpha-amino acid racemases. However, its specificity for a substrate with two stereo-centres separates the kinetic from data that presented by functionally related enzymes [PMID:16723397, PMID:10194362].
Defined by 5 residues: CYS:A-73HIS:A-159GLU:A-208CYS:A-217GLY:A-220