Covalent Catalysis by Enzymes

Some years ago one of my students and I reported that the acetate kinase reaction is mediated by a phosphorylated form of the enzyme [R. S. Anthony and L. B. Spector, lBe 245, 6739 (1970)]. The reversible reaction between ATP and acetate to give acetyl phosphate and ADP had hitherto been thought to proceed by direct transfer of a phosphoryl group from A TP to acetate in a single-displacement react...