What class of enzymes performs phosphorylation?
Henry Morales
Updated on April 20, 2026
Protein phosphorylation is a reversible PTM that is mediated by kinases and phosphatases, which phosphorylate and dephosphorylate substrates, respectively. These two families of enzymes facilitate the dynamic nature of phosphorylated proteins in a cell.
Which enzymes add phosphate to a molecule?
kinase, an enzyme that adds phosphate groups (PO43−) to other molecules. A large number of kinases exist—the human genome contains at least 500 kinase-encoding genes. Included among these enzymes' targets for phosphate group addition (phosphorylation) are proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids.How are enzymes phosphorylated?
Protein PhosphorylationThis is an esterification reaction where a phosphate group reacts with the hydroxyl (-OH) group of a serine, threonine, or tyrosine side chain. The enzyme protein kinase covalently binds a phosphate group to the amino acid.