Jack Preiss
Research Interests
Plants and bacteria
use similar reactions to synthesize the major carbohydrate reserve polymers,
starch and glycogen. First, ADP-glucose (ADPG) is synthesized from ATP and
glucose-1-P via catalysis by ADPG pyrophosphorylase. The glycosyl portion
of the sugar nucleotide is then transferred to the non-reducing end of a
growing glucose polymer chain to form new 1,4-glucosyl linkages. The synthesis
of the 1,6-glucosidic linkage is catalyzed by branching enzyme. Regulation
of starch and glycogen synthesis occurs via allosteric regulation of the
ADPG pyrophosphorylase-catalyzed reaction. Glycolytic intermediates are
activators and either AMP, ADP or Pi are inhibitors. Another regulatory
facet observed is the derepression of the glycogen biosynthetic levels in
the bacteria when the exponential phase of growth shifts into stationary
phase. In maize and other plants, similar observations have been made in
the endosperm. The levels of the starch biosynthetic enzymes dramatically
increase in the later stages of development.
The glycolytic intermediate
activators of the ADPG pyrophosphorylase vary for many of the systems studied,
and a rough correlation has been seen with respect to the nature of the
activator and the major carbon assimilation pathway in the organism. For
example, the activator for the higher plant ADPG pyrophosphorylases is
3-phosphoglycerate and the major activator for the ADPG pyrophosphorylase of the
bacteria that utilize glycolysis as their major catabolic pathway is
fructose-1,6-P2. Thus, it is of great interest to determine and compare the
structure and function of the catalytic and effector sites of the bacterial and
plant ADPG pyrophosphorylases. MORE
Recent Publications
Sheng F, Yep A, Feng L, Preiss J, Geiger JH. (2009) Oligosaccharide binding in Escherichia coli glycogen synthase. Biochemistry. 48(42):10089-97.
F Sheng, XF Jia, A Yep, J Preiss, JH Geiger. (2009) The Crystal Structures of the Open and Catalytically Competent Closed Conformation of Escherichia coli Glycogen Synthase. J. Biol. Chem. 284:17796-17807.
Preiss, J. (2009) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Glycogen Biosynthesis in Bacteria and Mammals and Starch synthesis in Plants. In Comprehensive Natural Products Chemistry II, Clair Byrne, Developmental Editor Elsevier, Inc., Oxford, UK. In Press.
Preiss, J. (2009) Glycogen: Biosynthesis and Regulation. In Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium: Cellular and Molecular Biology, Third edition, (F.C. Neidhardt, editor in Chief) Amer. Soc. Microbiol., Washington, D.C. In Press.
Preiss J., Starch Biosynthesis in Plants, Volume 4, pp 362-376, in Wiley Encyclopedia of Chemical Biology, 2009, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.
Preiss, J. (2009) "Glycogen Biosynthesis", in The Encyclopedia of Microbiology, 3rd Edition, edited by Moselio Schaechter, Oxford: Elsevier, UK, pp. 145-158.
J.M. Shively, G. C. Cannon, S. Heinhorst, J.A. Fuerst, D.A. Bryant, E. Gantt, J.A. Maupin-Furlow, D. Schuler, F. Pfeifer, R. Docampo, C. Dahl, J. Preiss, A. Steinbuchel and B.A. Federici. (2009) Intracellular Stuctures of Prokaryotes: Inclusions, Compartments and Assemblages. IN Encyclopedia of Microbiology, 3rd Edition. (M. Schaechter, Ed.) Elsevier, Inc., Oxford, UK. Pp. 404-424.
Preiss, J. (2009) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Starch Biosynthesis. IN: Starch: Chemistry and Technology (3rd edition) R.L. Whistler and J. BeMiller (eds.) Elsevier, Inc., Oxford, UK, pp 83-147.
Ventriglia T, Ballicora MA, Teresa Ruíz, M, Pedro, MR, Valverde, F, Preiss, J, Romero JM. (2008) Evolutionary fate of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiol. 148: 65-76.
Preiss, J. (2007) PABMB: From 1994 to Present. IUBMB Life 59: 212-213.
Ballicora MA, Erben ED, Yazaki T, Bertolo AL, Demonte AM, Schmidt JR, Aleanzi M, Bejar CM, Figueroa CM, Fusari CM, Iglesias AA, Preiss J. (2007) Identification of Regions Critically Affecting Kinetics and Allosteric Regulation of the Escherichia coli ADP-glucose Pyrophosphorylase by Modeling and Pentapeptide-Scanning Mutagenesis. J Bacteriol. 189:5325-5333.
Ventriglia T, Ballicora MA, Crevillen P, Preiss J, Romero JM. (2007) Regulatory properties of potato-Arabidopsis hybrid ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase. Plant Cell Physiol. 48:875-880.