Glycogenin: Difference between revisions

'''Glycogenin''' (Glycogenin glucosyltransferase) is the enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of glycogen; an important storage form of glucose in the body.  It is a unique enzyme in that it is primer, substrate, catalyst, and product of its enzymatic reaction and extension process of glycogen biosynthesis.  This is initiated by its ability to transfer glucose from UDP-glucose to form an oligosaccharide of glucose units that is covalently attached to itself at Tyr-194 in a multistep reaction mechanism <ref name="one"> PMID:12051921 </ref>.  It is placed in glycosyltransferase family 8 becuase it contains highly conserved motifs that are common to glycosyltransferases such as lipopolysaccharide glucose and galactose transferases and galactinol synthases <ref name="two"> PMID:9345621 </ref>.