Question

3. The equilibrium constant for the reaction catalyzed by UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase is approximately UTP H Como nykyvylle ??, Pyrophosphate UDP glucose он он phosphate 2P, Phosphere a. Based on the provided equilibrium constant, how would you describe the likelihood of this reaction to progress in the forward or reverse direction? h How does the presence of the enzyme inorganic pyrophosphatase in our cells increase the yield FUDP-glucose beyond that attainable with UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase alone?

Answer 1

Part a.

The expression for the equilibrium constant (K) can be written as follows.

K = [Products]/[Reactants]

If K = 1, then [Products] = [Reactants]

Therefore, for the given reaction, the forward and the reverse reactions are equally favored.

Part b.

Due to the highly polar nature of Inorganic pyrophosphate, it readily makes the anion on oxygen for the attack on the phosphate moiety of UDP to increase the yield of UDP-glucose.