Bacillus stearothermophilus and rabbit skeletal-muscle phosphofructokinases catalyse the transfer of the chiral [16O,17O,18O]phosphoryl group from D-fructose 1[(S)-16O,17O,18O],6-bisphosphate to ADP with inversion of configuration at the phosphorus atom. D-Fructose 1[(S)-16O,17O,18O],-bisphosphate was synthesized in situ from sn-glycerol 3[(S)-16O,17O,18O]phosphate. The simplest interpretation of these results is that the phosphoryl group is transferred between substrates in the enzyme substrate ternary complexes by an ‘in-line’ mechanism.
