Members identified as glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase(FDH), a member of the zinc dependent/medium chain alcohol dehydrogenase family. FDH converts formaldehyde and NAD(P) to formate and NAD(P)H. The initial step in this process the spontaneous formation of a S-(hydroxymethyl)glutathione adduct from formaldehyde and glutathione, followed by FDH-mediated oxidation (and detoxification) of the adduct to S-formylglutathione. MDH family uses NAD(H) as a cofactor in the interconversion of alcohols and aldehydes or ketones. Like many zinc-dependent alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) of the medium chain alcohol dehydrogenase/reductase family (MDR), these FDHs form dimers, with 4 zinc ions per dimer. The medium chain alcohol dehydrogenase family (MDR) have a NAD(P)(H)-binding domain in a Rossmann fold of a beta-alpha form. The N-terminal region typically has an all-beta catalytic domain. These proteins typically form dimers (typically higher plants, mammals) or tetramers (yeast, bacteria), and have 2 tightly bound zinc atoms per subunit. Alcohol dehydrogenase in the liver converts ethanol and NAD+ to acetaldehyde and NADH, while in yeast and some other microorganisms ADH catalyzes the conversion acetaldehyde to ethanol in alcoholic fermentation. ADH is a member of the medium chain alcohol dehydrogenase family (MDR), which have a NAD(P)(H)-binding domain in a Rossmann fold of a beta-alpha form. The NAD(H)-binding region is comprised of 2 structurally similar halves, each of which contacts a mononucleotide. A GxGxxG motif after the first mononucleotide contact half allows the close contact of the coenzyme with the ADH backbone. The N-terminal catalytic domain has a distant homology to GroES. These proteins typically form dimers (typically higher plants, mammals) or tetramers (yeast, bacteria), and have 2 tightly bound zinc atoms per subunit, a catalytic zinc at the active site and a structural zinc in a lobe of the catalytic domain. NAD(H) binding occurs in the cleft between the catalytic and coenzyme-binding domains at the active site, and coenzyme binding induces a conformational closing of this cleft. Coenzyme binding typically precedes and contributes to substrate binding.