PGM is an isomerase enzyme, effectively transferring a phosphate group (PO43−) from the C-3 carbon of 3-phosphoglycerate to the C-2 carbon forming 2-phosphoglycerate. There are a total of three reactions dPGM can catalyze: a mutase reaction resulting in the conversion of 3PG to 2PG and vice versa, a phosphatase reaction creating phosphoglycerate from 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate, and a synthase reaction producing 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate from 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate similar to the enzyme bisphosphoglycerate mutase. Kinetic and structural studies have provided evidence that indicate dPGM and bisphosphoglycerate mutase are paralogous structures. Both enzymes are contained in the superfamily that also contains the phosphatase portion of phosphofructokinase 2 and prostatic acid phosphatase.