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  Domain Name: Transket_pyr
Transketolase, pyrimidine binding domain. Transketolase (TK) catalyzes the reversible transfer of a two-carbon ketol unit from xylulose 5-phosphate to an aldose receptor, such as ribose 5-phosphate, to form sedoheptulose 7-phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3- phosphate. This enzyme, together with transaldolase, provides a link between the glycolytic and pentose-phosphate pathways. TK requires thiamine pyrophosphate as a cofactor. In most sources where TK has been purified, it is a homodimer of approximately 70 Kd subunits. TK sequences from a variety of eukaryotic and prokaryotic sources show that the enzyme has been evolutionarily conserved. In the peroxisomes of methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha, there is a highly related enzyme, dihydroxy-acetone synthase (DHAS) (also known as formaldehyde transketolase), which exhibits a very unusual specificity by including formaldehyde amongst its substrates.