Polyphosphate: A Multifunctional Metabolite in Cyanobacteria and Algae.

ABSTRACT: Polyphosphate (polyP), a polymer of orthophosphate (PO₄ ^3-) of varying lengths, has been identified in all kingdoms of life. It can serve as a source of chemical bond energy (phosphoanhydride bond) that may have been used by biological systems prior to the evolution of ATP. Intracellular polyP is mainly stored as granules in specific vacuoles called acidocalcisomes, and its synthesis and accumulation appear to impact a myriad of cellular functions. It serves as a reservoir for inorganic PO₄ ^3- and an energy source for fueling cellular metabolism, participates in maintaining adenylate and metal cation homeostasis, functions as a scaffold for sequestering cations, exhibits chaperone function, covalently binds to proteins to modify their activity, a

SUBMITTER: Sanz-Luque E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7332688 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature