In enzymology, a cellulose synthase (GDP-forming) () is an

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...

that

catalyzes Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycl ...

the

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the positions of electrons in the forming and break ...

:GDP-glucose + (1,4-beta-D-glucosyl)n

\rightleftharpoons

GDP + (1,4-beta-D-glucosyl)n⁺1 Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are GDP-glucose and (1,4-beta-D-glucosyl)n, whereas its two products are

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is of ...

and (1,4-beta-D-glucosyl)n+1. This enzyme belongs to the family of

glycosyltransferase Glycosyltransferases (GTFs, Gtfs) are enzymes (EC 2.4) that establish natural glycosidic linkages. They catalyze the transfer of saccharide moieties from an activated nucleotide sugar (also known as the " glycosyl donor") to a nucleophilic gl ...

s, specifically the hexosyltransferases. The

systematic name A systematic name is a name given in a systematic way to one unique group, organism, object or chemical substance, out of a specific population or collection. Systematic names are usually part of a nomenclature. A semisystematic name or semitrivial ...

of this enzyme class is GDP-glucose:1,4-beta-D-glucan 4-beta-D-glucosyltransferase. Other names in common use include cellulose synthase (guanosine diphosphate-forming), cellulose synthetase, guanosine diphosphoglucose-1,4-beta-glucan glucosyltransferase, and guanosine diphosphoglucose-cellulose glucosyltransferase. This enzyme participates in

starch and sucrose metabolism Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets, ...

. , no proteins with this activity are known in the UniProt/NiceZYme or the

gene ontology The Gene Ontology (GO) is a major bioinformatics initiative to unify the representation of gene and gene product attributes across all species. More specifically, the project aims to: 1) maintain and develop its controlled vocabulary of gene and g ...

database.

References

* * EC 2.4.1 Enzymes of unknown structure {{2.4-enzyme-stub