Final answer:
Phosphorylation is the addition of a phosphate group to a molecule, which can regulate enzyme activity or metabolic processes. Enzymes called kinases often facilitate this transfer, with significant roles in energy metabolism and signal transduction pathways.
Step-by-step explanation:
The general term given to molecules that have had a phosphate group attached is phosphorylation. This process is vital in biology as it activates or deactivates enzymes, and is often involved in signal transduction pathways.
During phosphorylation, a phosphate group (PO43-) from ATP is transferred to a substrate molecule. This transfer is typically facilitated by an enzyme known as a kinase.
There are various types of phosphorylation, such as substrate-level phosphorylation, where ADP is converted to ATP during glycolysis through the action of specific enzymes.
Another is protein phosphorylation, where amino acids like serine, threonine, or tyrosine in a protein have a phosphate group added, usually resulting in a functional change in the protein. Cells can phosphorylate molecules such as glucose to store energy or prepare it for further metabolism.