This gene encodes an enzyme that catalyzes the epimerization of hexose sugars such as glucose and galactose. The encoded protein is expressed in the cytoplasm and has a preference for galactose. The encoded protein may be required for normal galactose metabolism by maintaining the equilibrium of alpha and beta anomers of galactose.[provided by RefSeq, Mar 2009]
Forensic Context
A study in the forensically important flesh fly *Sarcophaga peregrina* demonstrated that the GALM gene was consistently up-regulated during postembryonic development from larval to pupal stages, a pattern validated by qRT-PCR [Ren et al. DOI:10.3390/insects13050453].