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Carbonic anhydrase alpha (vertebrate-like) group. Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are zinc-containing enzymes that catalyze the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide in a two-step mechanism: a nucleophilic attack of a zinc-bound hydroxide ion on carbon dioxide, followed by the regeneration of the active site by ionization of the zinc-bound water molecule and removal of a proton from the active site. They are ubiquitous enzymes involved in fundamental processes like photosynthesis, respiration, pH homeostasis and ion transport. There are three evolutionary distinct groups - alpha, beta and gamma carbonic anhydrases - which show no significant sequence identity or structural similarity. Most alpha CAs are monomeric enzymes. The zinc ion is complexed by three histidine residues and a fourth conserved histidine plays a potential role in proton transfer.