e enjte, mars 17, 2005

Enzyme Resurrection

Plant ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase consists of two subunits, a large modulatory subunit and a small catalytic subunit. By resurrecting the enzymatic activity of the modulatory subunit, Miguel Ballicora and colleagues proved that it descended from a catalytic ancestor. The amino acid similarity between the subunits (50% identity) suggested that the two proteins might share a common ancestry.