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 UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 1-carboxyvinyltransferase () 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 the first committed step in

peptidoglycan Peptidoglycan or murein is a unique large macromolecule, a polysaccharide, consisting of sugars and amino acids that forms a mesh-like layer (sacculus) that surrounds the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. The sugar component consists of alternating ...

biosynthesis of bacteria: :phosphoenolpyruvate + UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine

\rightleftharpoons

phosphate + UDP-N-acetyl-3-O-(1-carboxyvinyl)-D-glucosamine Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are

phosphoenolpyruvate Phosphoenolpyruvate (2-phosphoenolpyruvate, PEP) is the carboxylic acid derived from the enol of pyruvate and a phosphate anion. It exists as an anion. PEP is an important intermediate in biochemistry. It has the high-energy phosphate, highest-e ...

and

UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine Uridine diphosphate ''N''-acetylglucosamine or UDP-GlcNAc is a nucleotide sugar and a coenzyme in metabolism. It is used by glycosyltransferases to transfer ''N''-acetylglucosamine residues to substrates. UDP-GlcNAc is used for making glycosa ...

, whereas its two

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

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

and UDP-N-acetyl-3-O-(1-carboxyvinyl)-D-glucosamine. The pyruvate moiety provides the linker that bridges the glycan and peptide portion of peptidoglycan. The enzyme is inhibited by the antibiotic

fosfomycin Fosfomycin, sold under the brand name Monurol among others, is an antibiotic primarily used to treat lower urinary tract infections. It is not indicated for kidney infections. Occasionally it is used for prostate infections. It is generally ...

, which covalently modifies an active site

cysteine Cysteine (; symbol Cys or C) is a semiessential proteinogenic amino acid with the chemical formula, formula . The thiol side chain in cysteine enables the formation of Disulfide, disulfide bonds, and often participates in enzymatic reactions as ...

residue. This enzyme belongs to the family of

transferase In biochemistry, a transferase is any one of a class of enzymes that catalyse the transfer of specific functional groups (e.g. a methyl or glycosyl group) from one molecule (called the donor) to another (called the acceptor). They are involved ...

s, specifically those transferring aryl or alkyl groups other than methyl groups. 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 phosphoenolpyruvate:UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine 1-carboxyvinyltransferase.Other names in common use include MurA transferase, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 1-carboxyvinyl-transferase, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enoylpyruvyltransferase, enoylpyruvate transferase, phosphoenolpyruvate-UDP-acetylglucosamine-3-enolpyruvyltransferase, phosphoenolpyruvate:UDP-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose 2-enoyl-1-carboxyethyltransferase, phosphoenolpyruvate:uridine diphosphate N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyltransferase, phosphoenolpyruvate:uridine-5'-diphospho-N-acetyl-2-amino-2-deoxyglucose 3-enolpyruvyltransferase, phosphopyruvate-uridine diphosphoacetylglucosamine pyruvatetransferase, pyruvate-UDP-acetylglucosamine transferase, pyruvate-uridine diphospho-N-acetylglucosamine transferase, pyruvate-uridine diphospho-N-acetyl-glucosamine transferase, and pyruvic-uridine diphospho-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase. This enzyme participates in

amino sugar In organic chemistry, an amino sugar is a sugar molecule in which a hydroxyl group has been replaced with an amine group. More than 60 amino sugars are known, with one of the most abundant being N-Acetylglucosamine, ''N''-acetyl--glucosamine (a 2- ...

s metabolism and

glycan The terms glycans and polysaccharides are defined by IUPAC as synonyms meaning "compounds consisting of a large number of monosaccharides linked glycosidically". However, in practice the term glycan may also be used to refer to the carbohydrate ...

biosynthesis.

Structural studies

As of late 2007, 10

structures A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes , , , , , , , , , and .

References

Literature

* * * EC 2.5.1 Enzymes of known structure {{2.5-enzyme-stub