Carbohydrate Epimerases
Enzymes that catalyze the epimerization of chiral centers within carbohydrates or their derivatives. EC 5.1.3.
Racemases and Epimerases
UDPglucose 4-Epimerase
Carbohydrates
The largest class of organic compounds, including STARCH; GLYCOGEN; CELLULOSE; POLYSACCHARIDES; and simple MONOSACCHARIDES. Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a ratio of Cn(H2O)n.
Carbohydrate Metabolism
Cellular processes in biosynthesis (anabolism) and degradation (catabolism) of CARBOHYDRATES.
Dietary Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates present in food comprising digestible sugars and starches and indigestible cellulose and other dietary fibers. The former are the major source of energy. The sugars are in beet and cane sugar, fruits, honey, sweet corn, corn syrup, milk and milk products, etc.; the starches are in cereal grains, legumes (FABACEAE), tubers, etc. (From Claudio & Lagua, Nutrition and Diet Therapy Dictionary, 3d ed, p32, p277)
Plesiomonas
Azotobacter vinelandii
A species of gram-negative, aerobic bacteria first isolated from soil in Vineland, New Jersey. Ammonium and nitrate are used as nitrogen sources by this bacterium. It is distinguished from other members of its genus by the ability to use rhamnose as a carbon source. (From Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th ed)
Iduronic Acid
Component of dermatan sulfate. Differs in configuration from glucuronic acid only at the C-5 position.
Hexuronic Acids
Term used to designate tetrahydroxy aldehydic acids obtained by oxidation of hexose sugars, i.e. glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, etc. Historically, the name hexuronic acid was originally given to ascorbic acid.
Uronic Acids
Glucuronic Acid
A sugar acid formed by the oxidation of the C-6 carbon of GLUCOSE. In addition to being a key intermediate metabolite of the uronic acid pathway, glucuronic acid also plays a role in the detoxification of certain drugs and toxins by conjugating with them to form GLUCURONIDES.
Carbohydrate Sequence
The sequence of carbohydrates within POLYSACCHARIDES; GLYCOPROTEINS; and GLYCOLIPIDS.
Alginates
Molecular Sequence Data
Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.
Substrate Specificity
Amino Acid Sequence
Crystallography, X-Ray
Sequence Alignment
The arrangement of two or more amino acid or base sequences from an organism or organisms in such a way as to align areas of the sequences sharing common properties. The degree of relatedness or homology between the sequences is predicted computationally or statistically based on weights assigned to the elements aligned between the sequences. This in turn can serve as a potential indicator of the genetic relatedness between the organisms.
Models, Molecular
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
Oligosaccharides
Cloning, Molecular
Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate
Lectins
Proteins that share the common characteristic of binding to carbohydrates. Some ANTIBODIES and carbohydrate-metabolizing proteins (ENZYMES) also bind to carbohydrates, however they are not considered lectins. PLANT LECTINS are carbohydrate-binding proteins that have been primarily identified by their hemagglutinating activity (HEMAGGLUTININS). However, a variety of lectins occur in animal species where they serve diverse array of functions through specific carbohydrate recognition.
Starch
Any of a group of polysaccharides of the general formula (C6-H10-O5)n, composed of a long-chain polymer of glucose in the form of amylose and amylopectin. It is the chief storage form of energy reserve (carbohydrates) in plants.