Part of the pathway for acetamido sugar biosynthesis in bacteria and archaea. The enzyme from several bacteria (e.g., Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Haemophilus influenzae) has been shown to be bifunctional and also to possess the activity of EC
2.3.1.157, glucosamine-1-phosphate N-acetyltransferase [3,4,6]. The enzyme from plants and animals is also active toward N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine 1-phosphate (cf. EC
2.7.7.83, UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine diphosphorylase) [5,7], while the bacterial enzyme shows low activity toward that substrate [4].