An Unexpected Promiscuous Activity of 4-Oxalocrotonate Tautomerase : The cis-trans Isomerisation of Nitrostyrene

: Serendipitous switch: While exploring cis-nitrostyrene as a potential electrophile in Michael-type addition reactions catalysed by the enzyme 4-oxalocrotonate tautomerase (4-OT), it was unexpectedly found that 4-OT catalyses the isomerisation of cis-nitrostyrene to trans-nitrostyrene (k(cat) /K(m) = 1.9×10(3)  M(-1)  s(-1) ).