STEREOCHEMICAL, MECHANISTIC, AND STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF ENZYME-CATALYZED PHOSPHATE MONOESTER HYDROLYZES

Phosphoryl transfer is intimately involved at all levels of cellular c ontrol. This short review summarizes and highlights our understanding of the chemistry of phosphate monoester hydrolyses in a wide range of different enzymic systems. The article draws attention to the similari ties and differences in the diverse array of mechanisms that are emplo yed by Nature in mediating phosphate ester hydrolysis and identifies t rends that are related to the substrate specificity of phosphatases.