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 ...

, a ribokinase () 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, ...

:ATP + -ribose ⇌ ADP + -ribose 5-phosphate Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are ATP and -ribose, 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 ADP and -ribose 5-phosphate. 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 ATP:-ribose 5-phosphotransferase. Other names in common use include deoxyribokinase, ribokinase (phosphorylating), and -ribokinase. This enzyme participates in

pentose phosphate pathway The pentose phosphate pathway (also called the phosphogluconate pathway and the hexose monophosphate shunt or HMP shunt) is a metabolic pathway parallel to glycolysis. It generates NADPH and pentoses (five-carbon sugars) as well as ribose 5-ph ...

. Ribokinase (RK) belongs to the phosphofructokinase B (PfkB) family of sugar kinases. Other members of this family (also known as the RK family) include adenosine kinase (AK), inosine-guanosine kinase, fructokinase, and 1-phosphofructokinase. The members of the PfkB/RK family are identified by the presence of three conserved sequence motifs and the enzymatic activity of this family of protein generally shows a dependence on the presence of pentavalent ions. The conserved NXXE motif, which is a distinctive property of the PfkB family of proteins, is involved in pentavalent ion dependency. The structures of RK and several other PfK family of proteins have been determined from a number of organisms. Despite low sequence similarity between AdK and other PfkB family of proteins, these proteins are quite similar at structural levels.

Structural studies

As of late 2007, 7

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 .

Structural studies

References

Further reading