Enzymatic reactions involving orthoarsenate: arsenate is competitive with sulfate in the ATP sulfurylase reaction.

In the presence of ATP, Mg2+, and arsenate, ATP sulfurylase from yeast will catalyze the formation of inorganic pyrophosphate. Inorganic pyrophosphate was detected by determination of orthophosphate in the presence of inorganic pyrophosphatase. Two moles of Pi were found for each molecule of ATP in the reaction mixture. The activity of ATP sulfurylase with arsenate as an activating anion was from 1 to 3% of the activity observed with molybdate.