Chlorite dismutase, also known as Chlorite O2-lyase (EC 1.13.11.49), is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction Reactions that generate oxygen molecules are exceedingly rare in biology and difficult to mimic synthetically.
Perchlorate - respiring bacteria enzymatically detoxify chlorite, ClO−2, the end product of the perchlorate, ClO−4, respiratory pathway, by converting it to dioxygen, O2, and chloride, Cl−.
[1] Chlorite dismutase is a heme-containing protein, but it bears no structural or sequence relationships with known peroxidases or other heme proteins and is part of a large family of proteins with more than one biochemical function.