In Functional Group Transfer Reactions, a functional group will be transferred from one molecule that serves as the donor molecule to another molecule that will be the acceptor molecule. This reaction can be performed by transferase which participate in a myriad of different biochemical pathways throughout biology, and are integral to some of life’s most important processes.
Transferases are involved in myriad reactions in the cell. Three examples of these reactions are the activity of coenzyme A (CoA) transferase, which transfers thiol esters 1, the action of N-acetyltransferase, which is part of the pathway that metabolizes tryptophan 2, and the regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), which converts pyruvate to acetyl CoA3. Transferases are also utilized during translation. In this case, an amino acid chain is the functional group transferred by a peptidyl transferase. The transfer involves the removal of the growing amino acid chain from the tRNA molecule in the A-site of the ribosome and its subsequent addition to the amino acid attached to the tRNA in the P-site.4
Mechanistically, an enzyme that catalyzed the following reaction would be a transferase:
Xgroup + Y → X + Ygroup
where X is the donor that is often a coenzyme, and Y is the acceptor 5. Group would be the functional group that is transferred on account of transferase activity.
Described primarily based on the type of biochemical group transferred, transferases can be divided into ten categories (based on the EC Number classification). These categories comprise over 450 different unique enzymes. In the EC numbering system, transferases have been given a classification of EC2. Hydrogen is not considered a functional group when it comes to transferase targets; instead, hydrogen transfer is included under oxidoreductases, due to electron transfer considerations.
For a detailed information on class, subclass or sub-subclass of Transferases, please visit ExplorEnz.
| Family Number | Characterized | Pfam |
|---|---|---|
| FR1 | A0ZZH6; P04830; Q9ZEU2 | Alpha-amylase |
| FR2 | Q9RE05; Q9ZAR4 | Glyco_hydro_70 |
| FR3 | B8FRJ0 | Arylsulfotrans; Arylsulfotran_N |
| FR4 | Q9L9F1 | PTase_Orf2 |
FR1: FR1_1 / FR1_2 / FR1_3 / FR1_4 / FR1_5 / FR1_6 / FR1_7 / FR1_8 / FR1_9 / FR1_10 / FR1_11 / FR1_12 / FR1_13 / FR1_14 / FR1_15
FR2: No subfamily
FR4: No subfamily
FR1 3.2.1.1 ; 2.4.1.19 ; 5.4.99.16 ; 2.4.1.352 ; 2.4.1.7 ; 2.4.1.4 ; 3.2.1.133 ; 3.2.1.2
FR2 2.4.1.5
FR4 2.5.1.111 ; 2.5.1.123 ; 2.5.1.121 ; 2.5.1.124 ; 2.5.1.125
Moore S A, Jencks W P. Model reactions for CoA transferase involving thiol transfer. Anhydride formation from thiol esters and carboxylic acids[J]. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1982, 257(18): 10882-10892. ↩
Wishart D. “Tryptophan Metabolism”. Small Molecule Pathway Database. Department of Computing Science and Biological Sciences, University of Alberta. Retrieved 4 November 2013. ↩
Herbst E A F, MacPherson R E K, LeBlanc P J, et al. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase-4 contributes to the recirculation of gluconeogenic precursors during postexercise glycogen recovery[J]. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 2014, 306(2): R102-R107. ↩
Watson, James D. Molecular Biology of the Gene. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2013. Print. ↩
McDonald A G, Boyce S, Tipton K F. Enzyme classification and nomenclature[J]. eLS, 2015: 1-11. ↩