Using Molecular Visualization Software, Pymol, to understand metabolic enzymes: Triose Phosphate Isomerase

Glycolysis is a metabolic pathway that produces high energy molecules from sugars, like glucose, and is found in nearly all living cells. This the chemical reactions in this pathway by catalytic proteins called enzymes. In this video we will discuss Triose Phosphate Isomerase (TPI), which is the enzyme responsible for the Step 5 of glycolysis. In the previous step, the 6-carbon sugar is broken into two 3-carbon molecules, dihydroacetone phosphate (DHAP) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P). TPI is responsible for converting DHAP into G3P. This reaction allows for the rest of glycolysis to proceed in a streamlined fashion. With the assistance of Pymol, I will showcase the overall structure of TPI, how the shape of the active site allows for the positioning of DHAP, and how TPI interacts on an atomic level with the substrate to create the desired product.