A flavin cofactor is a characteristic feature present in almost all aldonolactone oxidoreductases.
An HWXK motif is present in all aldonolactone oxidoreductases for which amino acid sequences are known.
All aldonolactone oxidoreductases that are oxidases also have dehydrogenase activity however, exclusive dehydrogenases do exist.
Aldonolactone oxidoreductases with absolute specificity to l-galactono lactone or l-gulonolactone and promiscuous enzymes are found.
Plants have both l-gulono-1,4-lactone oxidases and l-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenases involved in ascorbate biosynthesis.