Erythrose

The initial step in the pathway is the condensation of erythrose-4-phosphale with phosphoenolpyruvate, yielding dehydroquinic acid, which by elimination of the elements of water affords dehydroshikimic acid reduction of the 3-keto group to hydroxyl gives shikimic acid. 

The particular aldotetrose just shown is called d erythrose The prefix d tells us that the configuration at the highest numbered chirality center is analogous to that of d (+) glyceraldehyde Its mirror image is l erythrose... 

Relative to each other both hydroxyl groups are on the same side m Fischer pro jections of the erythrose enantiomers The remaining two stereoisomers have hydroxyl groups on opposite sides m their Fischer projections They are diastereomers of d and L erythrose and are called d and l threose The d and l prefixes again specify the con figuration of the highest numbered chirality center d Threose and l threose are enan tiomers of each other... 

Which aldotetrose is the structure shown Is it D erythrose D threose L erythrose or L threose (Be careful The conformation given is not the same as that used to generate a Fischer projection)... 

As shown for the aldotetroses an aldose belongs to the d or the l series accord mg to the configuration of the chirality center farthest removed from the aldehyde func tion Individual names such as erythrose and threose specify the particular arrangement of chirality centers within the molecule relative to each other Optical activities cannot be determined directly from the d and l prefixes As if furns ouf bofh d eryfhrose and D fhreose are levorofafory buf d glyceraldehyde is dexfrorofafory... 

An analogous pattern of configurations can be seen m the aldopentoses when they are arranged m the order ribose arabinose xylose lyxose (RAXL is an easily remem bered nonsense word that gives the correct sequence) This pattern is discernible even m the aldotetroses erythrose and threose... 

Aldoses exist almost exclusively as their cyclic hemiacetals very little of the open chain form is present at equilibrium To understand their structures and chemical reac tions we need to be able to translate Fischer projections of carbohydrates into their cyclic hemiacetal forms Consider first cyclic hemiacetal formation m d erythrose To visualize furanose nng formation more clearly redraw the Fischer projection m a form more suited to cyclization being careful to maintain the stereochemistry at each chirality center... 

Eclipsed conformation of D erythrose showing C 4 hydroxyl group in position to add to carbonyl group... 

The two stereoisomeric furanose forms of d erythrose are named a d erythro furanose and p d erythrofuranose The prefixes a and p describe fhe relative configu ration of fhe anomeric carbon The configurafion of fhe anomeric carbon is compared wifh fhaf of fhe highesf numbered chiralify cenfer m fhe molecule—fhe one fhaf defer mines whefher fhe carbohydrafe is d or l Chemisfs use a simplified informal version of fhe lUPAC rules for assigning a and p fhaf holds for carbohydrates up fo and mclud mg hexoses... 

The TK-catalyzed reaction requires the presence of thiamine pyrophosphate and Mg " as cofactors. Although the substrate specificity of the enzyme has not been thoroughly investigated, it has been shown that the enzyme accepts a wide variety of 2-hydroxyaldehydes including D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate [591-57-1], D-glyceraldehyde [453-17-8], D-ribose 5-phosphate /47(9(9-2%/7, D-erythrose 4-phosphate and D-erythrose [583-50-6] (139,149—151). 

Sometimes the terms erythro and threo are used to specify fee relative configuration of two adjacent stereogenic centers. The terms are derived fom fee sugars erythrose and threose. The terms were originally defined such feat a Fischer projection formula in which two adjacent substituents were on the same side was fee erythro isomer and feat in whidi the substituents were on opposite sides was the threo isomer. 

The two stereoisomeric furanose forms of D-erythrose ae naned a-D-erythro-furanose and p-D-erythrofuranose. The prefixes a and p describe the relative configuration of the anorneric cabon. The configuration of the anorneric cabon is cornpaed with that of the highest numbered chirality center in the molecule—the one that determines whether the cabohydrate is d or l. Chemists use a simplified, informal version of the lUPAC rules for assigning a and p that holds for ca bohydrates up to and including hexoses. 

C-labeled carbon dioxide is administered to a green plant, and shortly thereafter the following compounds are isolated from the plant 3-phosphoglycerate, glucose, erythrose-4-phosphate, sedoheptulose-l,7-bisphosphate, ribose-5-phosphate. In which carbon atoms will radioactivity be found ... 

The transaldolase functions primarily to make a useful glycolytic substrate from the sedoheptulose-7-phosphate produced by the first transketolase reaction. This reaction (Figure 23.35) is quite similar to the aldolase reaction of glycolysis, involving formation of a Schiff base intermediate between the sedohep-tulose-7-phosphate and an active-site lysine residue (Figure 23.36). Elimination of the erythrose-4-phosphate product leaves an enamine of dihydroxyacetone, which remains stable at the active site (without imine hydrolysis) until the other substrate comes into position. Attack of the enamine carbanion at the carbonyl carbon of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate is followed by hydrolysis of the Schiff base (imine) to yield the product fructose-6-phosphate. 

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