Glycogen Synthesis
	The modification of compounds to energy storage materials 
is a key component to life on Earth.  Most prokaryotes and 
eukaryotes use glucose as the basic building block for starch and 
glycogen synthesis.  Each of these multi-step reactions require 
the use of enzymes, one of which is the branching enzyme.  This 
branching enzyme modifies the a-1,4 glycosyl linkages to 
a-1,6 glycosyl linkages at the ends of the growing glucan chain.  
This is important as it speeds up both the synthesis and 
degradation processes. The a-linkage network increases the area 
for both synthesis and degradation as both occur at the ends of 
the molecule.  The more ends there are on the glucan chain, the 
more glycosyl linkages can be formed or broken.  Dehydolization 
occurs in the synthesis reaction, when a water molecule is 
produced during the formation of an a-1,4 bond.   The resulting 
linkage network allows the molecule to be more soluble than the 
straight linear chain.  The increase in solubility increases the 
storage capacity.