eLife Assessment
This study by Graca et al. explores ethanol metabolism pathways in mycobacteria. The enzyme, MftG, a flavoprotein dehydrogenase, is shown to act as an electron shuttle between an uncommon redox cofactor and the electron transport chain thereby regenerating mycofactocin. Whilst this study was conducted in Mycobacterium smegmatis, the findings are important and have general implications for elucidating broader mycobacterial metabolism. Overall, the data presented are convincing supported by well-designed experiments.