**5.1 Tetrahydrodipicolinate N-acetyltransferase**

*Tetrahydrodipicolinate N-acetyltransferase* (THDP-NAT, EC 2.3.1.89) is an acetyl-coenzyme A (ACoA) dependant enzyme that catalyses the conversion of cyclic THDP to acyclic N-acetyl- (*S*)-2-amino-6-ketopimelate (NAAKP) (Chatterjee & White., 1982) (Fig. 1). The transferred acyl group maintains the linear conformation of the product and exposes the 6-keto group for subsequent transamination (Beaman et al., 2002). Crude cell extracts from *B. megaterium* were found to contain active THDP-NAT (Chatterjee & White., 1982). THDP-NAT enzymes are thought to be largely confined to *Bacillus sp*. (Weinberger & Gilvarg., 1970).
