alpha-Methyleneglutarate mutase (MGM) catalyzes the rearrangement of 2-methyleneglutarate to 3-methylitaconate (2-methylene-3-methylsuccinate). A putative mechanism for the MGM-catalyzed reaction involves 3-exo cyclization of the 2-methyleneglutaric acid-4-yl radical to a cyclopropylcarbinyl radical intermediate that ring opens to the 3-hydroxycarbonyl-2-methylenebutanoic acid-4-yl radical (3-methylitaconic acid radical). Model reactions for this mechanism were studied by laser flash photolysis kinetic methods. a-Ester radicals were produced by 266 nm photolysis of a-phenylselenyl ester derivatives. Rate constants for cyclizations of the (Z)-1-ethoxycarbonyl-4-(2,2-diphenylcyclopropyl)-3-buten-1-yl radical ((Z)-8a) and (E)- and (Z)-1,3-di(ethoxycarbonyl)-4-(2,2-diphenylcyclopropyl)-3-buten-1-yl radicals ((E)- and (Z)-8b) were determined. The ester group in (2)-8a accelerates the 3-exo cyclization in comparison to the parent radical lacking an ester group by a factor of 3, an effect ascribed to a polarized transition state. The ester groups at C3 in radicals 8b slow the 3-exo cyclization reaction by a factor of 50. The rate constant for cyclization of the 2-methyleneglutaric acid-4-yl radical is estimated to be k approximate to 2000 s(-1) at ambient temperature. When coupled with the estimated partitioning of the intermediate cyclopropylcarbinyl radical, the overall rate constant for the conversion is estimated to be k approximate to 1 x 10(-3) s(-1), which is much too small for any radical reaction and several orders of magnitude too small for kinetic competence for the MGM-catalyzed process. The possibility that the radical reaction in nature involves an unusual mechanism in which polar effects are important is discussed.