A new regulatory principle for in vivo biochemistry: Pleiotropic low affinity regulation by the adenine nucleotides - Illustrated for the glycolytic enzymes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We test this hypothesis in terms of the effect that ATP, ADP, and AMP might have on the major free-energy delivering pathway of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Assaying cell-free extracts, we collected a comprehensive set of quantitative kinetic data concerning the enzymes of the glycolytic and the ethanol fermentation pathways. We determined systematically the extent to which the enzyme activities depend on the concentrations of the adenine nucleotides. We found that the effects of the adenine nucleotides on enzymes catalysing reactions in which they are not directly involved as substrate or product, are substantial. This includes effects on the Michaelis-Menten constants, adding new perspective on these, 100 years after their introduction.