description | Protein involved in the synthesis of starch, the carbohydrate storage of plants. Starch consists of amylose (a linear alpha(1-4)-glucan) and amylopectin (an alpha(1-4)-glucan with alpha(1-6)-branch points) Starch (glucans and amylopectins) is synthesised via the ADP-glucose pathway by three key enzymes: ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, starch synthases and starch branching enzymes. The randomly branched glucan molecules are then specifically debranched via a debranching enzyme in order to produce amylopectins. Amylopectins are branched in highly ordered clusters and are crystalline in nature, but also contain covalently bound phosphate |