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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Nucleoside Triphosphates - From Synthesis to Biochemical Characterization
Published on: April 3, 2014
Aedes aegypti phosphohexomutases and uridine diphosphate-hexose pyrophosphorylases: comparison of primary sequences,
N Kato1, C R Mueller, V Wessely
1Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706,, USA.
Abstract:
Phosphohexomutases reversibly catalyse the transfer of the phosphate group of a glycosyl phosphate between the C6 and C1 positions, and uridine diphosphate (UDP)-hexose pyrophosphorylases catalyse the synthesis of UDP-hexose from uridine triphosphate (UTP) and hexose-1-phosphate. Both enzyme families are essential for nucleoside diphosphate hexose biosynthesis and are therefore critical for various physiological functions in the midgut of mosquitoes after a blood meal. We cloned and sequenced three phosphohexomutase and two UDP-hexose pyrophosphorylase cDNAs from Aedes aegypti. The products of the cDNAs were expressed and substrate specificities were examined. Herein we describe Ae. aegypti phosphoglucomutase 1, phosphoglucomutase 2, phosphoacetylglucosamine mutase, UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase. Transcripts of the genes expressing the enzymes are constitutively present in all life stages and blood-feeding does not seem to influence transcript abundance.
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