Using KEGG to trace metabolic pathways. KEGG is a database of genes and genomes organized by metabolic pathways. It is vital to know how to read these metabolic maps and how to use them to pull together entire pathways. Utilize KEGG to trace the biosynthesis of Acetyl-CoA. Begin with aspartic acid, cysteine, pyruvate and valine. For each step
a) Identify the enzyme that catalyzes each step
b) Write out the chemical reaction that the enzyme catalyzes indicating the source of each of the pieces by color coding the starting fragments (asp, cys, val and pyruvate)
c) Sum together all of the reactions to provide a single equation that describes the biosynthesis pathway.