Abstract
THE enzyme transketolase is biologically widely distributed, and, in presence of thiamine pyrophosphate and magnesium ions, transfers the ketol group or ‘active glycolaldehyde’ (CH2OH.CO…H) from a variety of ketose phosphates (sedoheptulose 7-phosphate, D-fructose 6-phosphate, D-xylulose 5-phosphate), from certain free ketoses (L-erythrulose, D-xylulose) and from hydroxypyruvic acid to certain ‘acceptor aldehydes’, thus synthesizing new ketoses. The ‘acceptor aldehydes’ hitherto recognized are D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, D-ribose 5-phosphate, D-erythrose 4-phosphate and 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate; also free glyceraldehyde and glycolaldehyde (for reviews see refs. 1–3). Acetaldehyde and formaldehyde are stated not to be acceptors4, but the former appears in our preliminary tests to be weakly active.
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DICKENS, F., WILLIAMSON, D. Formaldehyde as an Acceptor Aldehyde for Transketolase, and the Biosynthesis of Triose. Nature 181, 1790 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1811790a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1811790a0
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