This enzyme is involved in the pathway of 7-cyano-7-deazaquanine (preQ0) biosynthesis and catalyses the complex heterocyclic radical-mediated conversion of 6-carboxy-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropterin (CPH4) to 7- carboxy-7-deazaguanine (CDG). Although this step is common to the biosynthetic pathways of all 7-deazapurine-containing compounds the radical SAM enzyme QueE itself is quite variable. This entry represents a variant form in which the three-Cys motif that binds the signature 4Fe-4S cluster takes the form Cx14CxxC, as in Burkholderia multivorans ATCC 17616. The 3D structure of this form has been solved and the mechanism of other QueE proteins is thought to be broadly similar to the one proposed here.