Two steps from AMP: adenylate kinase makes ADP, then a nucleoside diphosphate kinase adds the third phosphate
Route: AMP → ADP → ATP
Most ATP in a cell comes from ATP synthase and from glycolysis, which both phosphorylate ADP. This page shows the kinase route that starts from AMP. Adenylate kinase moves a phosphate from ATP to AMP, so one AMP and one ATP become two ADP. The reaction runs in both directions and keeps the three adenine nucleotides in balance. Nucleoside diphosphate kinase then moves the terminal phosphate of another nucleoside triphosphate, here GTP, onto ADP. The enzyme works by a ping-pong mechanism: it takes the phosphate onto a histidine first and passes it on to the diphosphate in a second step. It has little preference for the base, so it can charge any nucleoside diphosphate. The reaction is reversible. The GTP drawn here as phosphate donor is one example; ATP can serve as the donor for the other nucleoside diphosphates, as in the CTP pathway.
Practice this pathway All pathways
| Step | Enzyme | EC | In | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adenylate kinase 1 | 2.7.4.3 | ATP | |
| 2 | Nucleoside diphosphate kinase | 2.7.4.6 | GTP | GDP |
Enzyme names and EC numbers are those used on the interactive board. Checked against sources: see the claim table in the repository (tools/pathway_data/checks).