Sn glycerol 1 phosphate dehydrogenase

In enzymology, a sn-glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.261) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction

The 3 substrates of this enzyme are sn-glycerol 1-phosphate, NAD⁺, and NADP⁺, whereas its 4 products are glycerone phosphate, NADH, NADPH, and H⁺.

This enzyme belongs to the family of oxidoreductases, specifically those acting on the CH-OH group of donor with NAD⁺ or NADP⁺ as acceptor. The systematic name of this enzyme class is sn-glycerol-1-phosphate:NAD(P)⁺ 2-oxidoreductase. This enzyme is also called glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase [NAD(P)⁺].

G-1-P dehydrogenase is responsible for the formation of sn-glycerol 1-phosphate, the backbone of the membrane phospholipids of Archaea. The gene encoding glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase has been detected in all the archaeal species and has not been found in any bacterial or eukaryal species. sn-glycerol 1-phosphate produced by this enzyme is the most fundamental difference by which Archaea and bacteria are discriminated.