The systematic name of this enzyme class is ATP:d-ribose 5-phosphotransferase. Other names in common use include deoxyribokinase, ribokinase (phosphorylating), and d-ribokinase. This enzyme participates in pentose phosphate pathway.
Ribokinase (RK) belongs to the phosphofructokinase B (PfkB) family of sugar kinases.[1] Other members of this family (also known as the RK family) include adenosine kinase (AK), inosine-guanosine kinase, fructokinase, and 1-phosphofructokinase.[1][2][3] The members of the PfkB/RK family are identified by the presence of three conserved sequence motifs and the enzymatic activity of this family of protein generally shows a dependence on the presence of pentavalent ions.[1][2][4] The conserved NXXE motif, which is a distinctive property of the PfkB family of proteins, is involved in pentavalent ion dependency. The structures of RK and several other PfK family of proteins have been determined from a number of organisms.[5] Despite low sequence similarity between AdK and other PfkB family of proteins, these proteins are quite similar at structural levels.[1]
^Maj MC, Singh B, Gupta RS (March 2002). "Pentavalent ions dependency is a conserved property of adenosine kinase from diverse sources: identification of a novel motif implicated in phosphate and magnesium ion binding and substrate inhibition". Biochemistry. 41 (12): 4059–69. doi:10.1021/bi0119161. PMID11900549.
