Uridine Monophosphate Synthetase (UMPS)

Uridine monophosphate synthetase (UMPS) is the enzyme (EC 4.1.1.23) that catalyses the formation of uridine monophosphate (UMP), an energy carrying molecule in many important biosynthetic pathways. In humans, the gene that codes for this enzyme is located on the long arm of chromosome 3 (3q13).Deficiency of this enzyme is an inherited autosomal recessive trait in Holstein cattle, and it will cause death before birth.Deficiency of the enzyme can be studied in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. The rad-6 strain has a premature stop codon eliminating the orotidine 5’-decarboxylase domain of the protein; this domain does not occur in any other proteins encoded by the genome. The strain has a pleiotropic phenotype including reduced viability and fertility, slow growth and radiation sensitivity.