Heme proteins perform diverse biological functions, of which myoglobin (Mb) is a representative protein. In this study, the O-2 carrier Mb was shown to cleave double stranded DNA upon aerobic dithiothreitol-induced reduction, which is fine-tuned by an additional distal histidine, His29 or His43, engineered in the heme active center. Spectroscopic (UV-vis and EPR) and inhibition studies suggested that free radicals including singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radical are responsible for efficient DNA cleavage via an oxidative cleavage mechanism. On the other hand, L29E Mb, with a distinct heme active ...
