Question of the day~

[Quantum Buckyball]

What do you call (name) an enzyme that can perform three different catalytic reactions?  

[rexzeppelin]

Can't tell if this is an earnest question or the set-up for a joke. In any event, I don't know the answer 

[Quantum Buckyball]

It was a serious question, we always learned name an enzyme after a specific catalytic reaction...but what if there are more than one reaction an enzyme can carry out? Do you just name it based on the catalytic reaction with the fastest kcat/km ? 

[rexzeppelin]

That sounds like a reasonable convention. I mean, aren't some proteins named before all their functions have been elucidated, sometimes making the original names almost irrelevant? 

[Quantum Buckyball]

yeah, usually it's called putative xxxxx based on the dna/aa sequences... and that's about it.

[ion_exchanger]

Do the functions occur at the same time? Is one reaction more favored than the others? I hope to name a novel protein/gene. I'll take into account the function(s) and name it in such a way that it has a cool acronym.

Edited March 20, 2014 by ion_exchanger

[Quantum Buckyball]

No, not all 3 reactions occur simultaneously, 

[username1824]

Whichever function was found first was probably how it was named. I remember there's a protein called xxx kinase (the name escapes me), but the protein never comes in contact with xxx in vivo. It was just seen to add phosphate groups to xxx in vitro, so it was given the name and it stuck. 

[elanorci]

I too was waiting for a pun. Darn. 

[ion_exchanger]

Whatever it is should end in triase, no?

[rexzeppelin]

triumvirase??

[pcsteak]

triumvirase??

 

  I believe we have a winner! Alternatively: trifectase.

[ion_exchanger]

Trifectase is pretty awesome!

[aberrant]

http://www.fastbleep.com/biology-notes/40/116/1159

 

I thought it is quite common that an enzyme can catalyze more than 1 reaction. Something like this (http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/explore/derivedData.do?structureId=1W85&bionumber=1) can be considered as transketolase, dehydrogenase/oxidoreductase, & synthase. I would assumed naming of a protein is based on the main function it performs.

[Quantum Buckyball]

http://www.fastbleep.com/biology-notes/40/116/1159

 

I thought it is quite common that an enzyme can catalyze more than 1 reaction. Something like this (http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/explore/derivedData.do?structureId=1W85&bionumber=1) can be considered as transketolase, dehydrogenase/oxidoreductase, & synthase. I would assumed naming of a protein is based on the main function it performs.

 

Ohh that's a good website, thank you! 

[Vene]

http://www.fastbleep.com/biology-notes/40/116/1159

 

I thought it is quite common that an enzyme can catalyze more than 1 reaction. Something like this (http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/explore/derivedData.do?structureId=1W85&bionumber=1) can be considered as transketolase, dehydrogenase/oxidoreductase, & synthase. I would assumed naming of a protein is based on the main function it performs.

I imagine it's got to be difficult to determine what an enzyme's main function happens to be. I guess you could try and assay the activity of different reactions it catalyzes in a cell in order to see what it spends the most time doing, but to truly say that a certain reaction is the primary reaction you have to justify it for all cell types and during different metabolic conditions.

[Quantum Buckyball]

or is it based on the turnover number....?