<p>These proteins catalyze the hydrolytic dehalogenation of small L-2-haloalkanoic acids to yield the corresponding D-2-hydroxyalkanoic acids [<cite idref="PUB00009547"/>]. They belong to the Haloacid Dehalogenase (HAD) superfamily of aspartate-nucleophile hydrolases, class (subfamily) I. Note that the Type I HAD enzymes have not yet been fully characterised, but clearly utilise a substantially different catalytic mechanism and are thus unlikely to be related.</p>