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Practice - Pentose Phosphate Path definitions

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  • Transketolase
    Enzyme that transfers two-carbon units between five-carbon sugars, facilitating rearrangement in the pentose phosphate pathway.
  • Transaldolase
    Enzyme responsible for transferring three-carbon units from a seven-carbon sugar to a three-carbon sugar, forming four- and six-carbon products.
  • Pentose Phosphate Pathway
    Metabolic pathway generating NADPH and sugar precursors for biosynthesis, including nucleotides and aromatic amino acids.
  • Xylulose 5 Phosphate
    Five-carbon sugar acting as a donor of two-carbon units in rearrangement reactions within the pentose phosphate pathway.
  • Ribose 5 Phosphate
    Five-carbon sugar serving as a precursor for nucleotide and histidine biosynthesis, produced via isomerization.
  • Pseudoheptulose 7 Phosphate
    Seven-carbon sugar formed by transketolase action, later used as a substrate for transaldolase in the pathway.
  • Glyceraldehyde 3 Phosphate
    Three-carbon sugar produced during rearrangement steps, linking the pentose phosphate pathway to glycolysis.
  • Erythrose 4 Phosphate
    Four-carbon sugar generated by transaldolase, serving as a precursor for aromatic amino acid biosynthesis.
  • Fructose 6 Phosphate
    Six-carbon sugar produced in the pathway, capable of entering glycolysis for further energy metabolism.
  • 6-Phosphogluconate Dehydrogenase
    Enzyme catalyzing the decarboxylation of 6-phosphogluconate, producing ribulose 5 phosphate and carbon dioxide.
  • Ribulose 5 Phosphate
    Five-carbon sugar formed from 6-phosphogluconate, which can be isomerized to ribose 5 phosphate for biosynthetic purposes.
  • Decarboxylation
    Process in which a carboxyl group is removed as carbon dioxide, notably from carbon 1 of glucose in the pathway.
  • Aromatic Amino Acids
    Class of amino acids synthesized from erythrose 4 phosphate, including phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan.
  • Nucleotides
    Molecules essential for DNA and RNA synthesis, whose ribose component is supplied by the pentose phosphate pathway.
  • Histidine
    Amino acid whose biosynthesis requires ribose 5 phosphate as a precursor, linking nucleotide and protein metabolism.