Assessment | Biopsychology | Comparative | Cognitive | Developmental | Language | Individual differences | Personality | Philosophy | Social |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |

Biological: Behavioural genetics · Evolutionary psychology · Neuroanatomy · Neurochemistry · Neuroendocrinology · Psychoneuroimmunology · Physiological Psychology · Psychopharmacology

In biochemistry, a transferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of a functional group (e.g. a methyl or phosphate group) from one molecule (called the donor) to another (called the acceptor). For example, an enzyme that catalyzed this reaction would be a transferase:

A–X + B → A + B–X

In this example, A would be the donor, and B would be the acceptor. The donor is often a coenzyme.

NomenclatureEdit

Proper names of transferases are formed as "donor:acceptor grouptransferase." However, other names are much more common. The common names of transferases are often formed as "acceptor grouptransferase" or "donor grouptransferase." For example, a DNA methyltransferase is a transferase that catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group to a DNA acceptor.

ClassificationEdit

Transferases are classified as EC 2 in the EC number classification. Transferases can be further classified into nine subclasses:

• EC 2.1 includes enzymes that transfer one-carbon groups (methyltransferase)
• EC 2.2 includes enzymes that transfer aldehyde or ketone groups
• EC 2.3 includes acyltransferases
• EC 2.4 includes glycosyltransferases
• EC 2.5 includes enzymes that transfer alkyl or aryl groups, other than methyl groups
• EC 2.6 includes enzymes that transfer nitrogenous groups (transaminase)
• EC 2.7 includes enzymes that transfer phosphorus-containing groups (phosphotransferase, including polymerase and kinase)
• EC 2.8 includes enzymes that transfer sulfur-containing groups (sulfurtransferase and sulfotransferase)
• EC 2.9 includes enzymes that transfer selenium-containing groups

See alsoEdit

• Transaminases

ReferencesEdit

• EC 2 Introduction from the Department of Chemistry at Queen Mary, University of London

Enzyme catalysis - Enzyme inhibitor - Enzyme kinetics - Lineweaver-Burk plot - Michaelis-Menten kinetics - List of enzymes

1. REDIRECT Template:One carbon transferases

Template:Aldehyde-ketone transferases

Template:Alkyl and aryl transferases Template:Transaminases Template:Phosphotransferases Template:Sulfur-containing group transferases