Disease relevance of galM

• Significant activities of mutarotase and UDPglucose 4-epimerase were detected in lysates of E. coli cells containing plasmids encoding galM and galE [1].
• The complete nucleotide sequences of the genes encoding aldose 1-epimerase (mutarotase) (galM) and UDPglucose 4-epimerase (galE) and flanking regions of Streptococcus thermophilus have been determined [1].

High impact information on galM

• A putative galM gene identified in the same cluster suggests the presence of a galactose operon [2].
• It was tentatively identified as galM (mutarotase) on the basis of the significant amino acid sequence homology with the corresponding Streptococcus thermophilus gene [3].
• In accordance with the open reading frames of the structural genes, galM and galE were expressed as polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 39 and 37 kilodaltons, respectively [1].

Biological context of galM

• The amino acid sequences of galM and galE proteins also showed significant similarity with the carboxy-terminal and amino-terminal domains, respectively, of UDPglucose 4-epimerase from Kluyveromyces lactis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, suggesting that the yeast enzymes contain an additional, yet unidentified (mutarotase) activity [1].

References