This family consists of several bacterial lipopolysaccharide core biosynthesis proteins (WaaY or RfaY). The waaY, waaQ, and waaP genes are located in the central operon of the waa (formerly rfa) locus on the chromosome of Escherichia coli. This locus contains genes whose products are involved in the assembly of the core region of the lipopolysaccharide molecule. WaaY is the enzyme that phosphorylates HepII in this system [1].

1: Involvement of waaY, waaQ, and waaP in the modification of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide and their role in the formation of a stable outer membrane. Yethon JA, Heinrichs DE, Monteiro MA, Perry MB, Whitfield C; J Biol Chem 1998;273:26310-26316. PMID:9756860