Plasmodium falciparum orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (PfOPRT) catalyzes the reversible pyrophosphorolysis of orotidine 5'-monophosphate (OMP). Transition-state analysis from kinetic isotope effects supports a dianionic orotic acid (OA) leaving group. Isotope-edited Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry complemented by homology modeling and quantum chemical calculations were used to characterize the orotate hydrogen-bond network for PfOPRT. Bond stretch frequencies for C-2=O and C-4=O of OMP were established from C-13-edited FTIR difference spectra. Both frequencies were shifted downward by 20 cm(-1) upon formation of the Michaelis complex. Hydrogen-bond interactions to the orotate moiety induce strong leaving group polarization by ground-state destabilization. The C-2=O bond is 2.7 angstrom from two conserved water molecules, and the C-4=O bond is within 2.4 angstrom of the NH2(omega) of Arg241 and the peptide NH of Phe97. Relative to free OMP, the N1 atom of PfOPRT-bound OMP indicates a Delta pK(a) of -4.6. The decreased basicity of N1 supports leaving group activation through a hydrogen-bond network at the PfOPRT active site. PfOPRT in complex with O-18-PPi and a proposed transition-state analogue revealed a trianionic PPi nucleophile with no significant P(sic)O bond polarization, supporting a mechanism proceeding through the migration of the ribocation toward the PPi. These results along with previous PfOPRT transition-state analyses provide reaction coordinate information for the PfOPRT-catalyzed OMP pyrophosphorolysis reaction.