title: Starch phosphorylation: a new front line in starch research.
abstract: Starch is the primary energy reserve in higher plants and is, after cellulose, the second most abundant carbohydrate in the biosphere. It is also the most important energy source in the human diet and, being a biodegradable polymer with well-defined chemical properties, has an enormous potential as a versatile renewable resource. The only naturally occurring covalent modification of starch is phosphorylation. Starch phosphate esters were discovered a century ago but were long regarded as a curiosity, receiving little attention. Indeed, the mechanism for starch phosphorylation remained completely unknown until recently. The starch-phosphorylating enzyme is an alpha-glucan water dikinase. It is now known that starch phosphorylation plays a central role in starch metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Molecular Plant Physiology, Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Dept of Plant Biology, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C, Copenhagen, Denmark. abl@kvl.dk
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blennow
authors.forename: Tom H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Lone
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baunsgaard
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mikkelsen
authors.forename: Søren B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Engelsen
mesh_terms: D000687:Amylopectin / Q000378:metabolism; D000688:Amylose / Q000378:metabolism; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051599:Glucose-1-Phosphate Adenylyltransferase; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends; D013213:Starch / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000687:Amylopectin; D000688:Amylose; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D051599:Glucose-1-Phosphate Adenylyltransferase; D009004:Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases; D013213:Starch; C496715:ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, Arabidopsis; C435922:At1g10760 protein, Arabidopsis