(ATP:glycerol 3-phosphotransferase; EC 2.7.1.30)
Glycerol kinase (GK) catalyzes the following reaction:
GK
Glycerol + ATP ——> Glycerol-3-P + ADP
Glycerol kinase has been isolated from microorganisms, who use this enzyme for utilization of glycerol as a carbon source. According to Kida, et al [Kida, K., Kobayashi, K, Kimura, H., and Y. Yugari, J. Biochem (Tokyo), 73, 299, 1973], the mammalian glycerol kinase represents an interfacing link between carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Glycerol kinase is important in the determination of glycerol, triglycerides and lipase activity. It can also be utilized in the assay of glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone.
The amount of enzyme which produces one micromole of glycerol-3-phosphate from glycerol, in the presence of ATP, per minute at pH 9.8 and 37°C.