enzymology Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

, a cellulose synthase (GDP-forming) () is an enzyme that

catalyzes Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

the chemical reaction :GDP-glucose + (1,4-beta-D-glucosyl)n

\rightleftharpoons

GDP + (1,4-beta-D-glucosyl)n⁺1 Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are GDP-glucose and (1,4-beta-D-glucosyl)n, whereas its two products are GDP and (1,4-beta-D-glucosyl)n+1. This enzyme belongs to the family of glycosyltransferases, specifically the hexosyltransferases. The systematic name of this enzyme class is GDP-glucose:1,4-beta-D-glucan 4-beta-D-glucosyltransferase. Other names in common use include cellulose synthase (guanosine diphosphate-forming), cellulose synthetase, guanosine diphosphoglucose-1,4-beta-glucan glucosyltransferase, and guanosine diphosphoglucose-cellulose glucosyltransferase. This enzyme participates in

starch and sucrose metabolism Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets, ...

. , no proteins with this activity are known in the UniProt/NiceZYme or the gene ontology database.

References

* * EC 2.4.1 Enzymes of unknown structure {{2.4-enzyme-stub