The non-phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase: biochemistry, structure, occurrence and evolution

The non-phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase catalyses the irreversible reaction of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to 3-phosphoglycerate by the reduction of NADP to NADPH. This is in contrast to the extensively analysed phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases which catalyse the reversible reaction of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate. Sequence analysis revealed that the non-phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase is not related to the phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases but a member of the aldehyde dehydrogenase superfamily. The aldehyde dehydrogenases are of ancient origin and they have already existed in the progenote as indicated by phylogenetic analysis. Thus the non-phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase can be found in all three domains, archaea, bacteria and eukarya. The catalytic mechanism of the non-phosphorylating glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and the other aldehyde dehydrogenases resembles a thioester mechanism involving the universally conserved cysteine 298 (pea GAPN). The cofactor of the aldehyde dehydrogenases is bound in a new mode to a structure described as beta-alpha,beta-fold.