Nature Chemical Biology, Published online: 28 September 2023; doi:10.1038/s41589-023-01426-y

The flavoenzyme nicotine oxidoreductase degrades nicotine in the bloodstream. Now, genetic selection in bacteria has been used to improve the catalytic performance of nicotine oxidoreductase, isolating variants with increased O2 reactivity that were more effective at degrading nicotine in the blood of rats.