enzymology An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

, an undecaprenyldiphospho-muramoylpentapeptide beta-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase () is an

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

that

catalyzes Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

the

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemistry, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an Gibbs free energy, ...

:UDP-N-acetylglucosamine + Mur₂Ac(oyl-L-Ala-gamma-D-Glu-L-Lys-D-Ala-D-Ala)-diphosphoundecaprenol

\rightleftharpoons

UDP + GlcNAc-(1->4)-Mur₂Ac(oyl-L-Ala-gamma-D-Glu-L-Lys-D-Ala-D-Ala)-diphosphoundecaprenol The 2 substrates of this enzyme are UDP-N-acetylglucosamine and Mur2Ac(oyl-L-Ala-gamma-D-Glu-L-Lys-D-Ala-D-Ala)-diphosphoundecaprenol, whereas its 2

products Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that can be offered to a market to satisfy the desire or need of a customer. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution ...

are UDP and

Lipid II Lipid II is a precursor molecule in the synthesis of the cell wall of bacteria. It is a peptidoglycan, which is amphipathic and named for its bactoprenol hydrocarbon chain, which acts as a lipid anchor, embedding itself in the bacterial cell me ...

. This enzyme belongs to the family of glycosyltransferases, 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 semitrivi ...

of this enzyme class is UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine:N-acetyl-alpha-D-muramyl(oyl-L-Ala-gamma- D-Glu-L-Lys-D-Ala-D-Ala)-diphosphoundecaprenol beta-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminlytransferase. Another name in common use is MurG transferase. This enzyme participates in peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Variant reactions producing modified cell walls include (not muturally exclusive): * Replacement of lysine residue with meso-diaminopimelate combined with adjacent residues through its L-centre, as it is in Gram-negative and some Gram-positive organisms. * Use of mono-trans,octa-cis-decaprenyl instead of the conventional di-trans,octa-cis-undecaprenol moiety, as found in ''

Mycobacterium ''Mycobacterium'' is a genus of over 190 species in the phylum Actinomycetota, assigned its own family, Mycobacteriaceae. This genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis (''Mycobacterium tuberculo ...

''.

References

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