Evolution
The structures of many phosphopentose epimerase analogs have been discovered through crystallographic studies. Due to its role in the Calvin cycle and the pentose phosphate pathway, the overall structure is conserved. When the sequences of evolutionarily-distant organisms were compared, greater than 50% similarity was observed. However, amino acids positioned at the dimer interface – which are involved in many intermolecular interactions – are not necessarily conserved. It is important to note that the members of the “ribulose phosphate binding” superfamily resulted from divergent evolution from a (β/α)8 - barrel ancestor.
Read more about this topic: Phosphopentose Epimerase
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