Trimethylamine N-oxide reductase

Trimethylamine N-oxide reductase (TOR or TMAO reductase, EC 1.7.2.3) is a microbial enzyme that can reduce trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) into trimethylamine (TMA), as part of the electron transport chain. The enzyme has been purified from E. coli and the photosynthetic bacteria Roseobacter denitrificans. Both the R. denitrificans and E. coli enzymes can accept electrons from cytochromes.

trimethylamine + 2 (ferricytochrome c)-subunit + H2O → trimethylamine N-oxide + 2 (ferrocytochrome c)-subunit + 2 H+

Trimethylamine oxide is found at high concentrations in the tissues of fish, and the bacterial reduction of this compound to foul-smelling trimethylamine is a major process in the spoilage of fish.