Chapter 2.4-Enzymes Flashcards
(77 cards)
What is a catalyst?
- chemical that speeds up the rate of of a reaction and remains unchanged and reusable at the end of the reaction
- small amount of catalyst can catalyse the conversion of a large number of substrate molecules into product molecules
What is a biological catalyst?
enzyme that speeds up metabolic reactions
What does metabolic/metabolism mean?
the chemical reactions that take place inside living cells or organisms
What is meant by the turnover number?
number of reactions that an enzyme molecule can catalyse per second
Why are enzymes so remarkable?
- enzymes speed up metabolic reactions by up to 10^12 times at lower temperature, neutral pH and at normal pressures
- more specific than chemical catalysts. Don’t produce unwanted by-products and rarely make mistakes
- cells are able to regulate their production and activity to fit the needs of the cell or organism at the time
What does intracellular mean?
inside the cell
What does extracellular mean?
outside the cell
What is a substrate?
molecule that is altered by an enzyme-catalysed reaction
What is a product?
molecule produced from substrate molecules, by an enzyme-catalysed reaction
What is a metabolic pathway which use intracellular enzymes?
series of consecutive reactions, every step catalysed by a specific enzyme that produces a specific product
What are metabolites?
the reactants, intermediates and products
What are catabolic pathways?
metabolites are broken down to smaller molecules and release energy
What are anabolic pathways?
energy is used to synthesise larger molecules from smaller ones
What are two examples of complex metabolic pathways
respiration and photosynthesis
How do extracellular enzymes work?
- enzymes are secreted from cells where they are made and act on their substrates, extracellularly.
- very important in digestion before uptake
What is an example of how extracellular enzymes work in Fungi?
-Fungi, such as the bread mould Mucor, release hydrolytic enzymes from their thread like hyphae. The enzymes digest carbohydrates, proteins and lipids in the bread, and the products of digestion-glucose, amino acids, glycerol and fatty acids, are absorbed into the fungal hyphae for use in respiration and growth
What is catalase and how is it an example of an intracellular enzyme?
- found in nearly all living organisms that are exposed to oxygen.
- very important enzyme within the cell as it breaks down the toxic hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen
- 2H202—–02 +2H20
- Catalase consists of four polypeptide chains and contains a haem group with iron
- second fastest-acting enzyme, having the highest turnover number known, about 6 million per second
- found in small vesicles called peroxisomes in eukaryotic cells
- white blood cells use catalase when ingesting pathogens to help killl the invading microbe
What is the optimum pH for the catalase enzyme in humans?
around pH7
Whats the function of amylase enzyme and how is it an example of a extracellular enzyme?
- produced in the salivary glands, and acts in the mouth to digest the polysaccharide starch to the dissacharride maltose.
- also made in the pancreas and acts to catalyse the same reaction in the lumen of the small intestine
Whats the function of trypsin enzyme and how is it an example of an extracellular enzyme?
- made in the pancreas and acts in the lumen of the small intestine to digest proteins into smaller peptides by hydrolysing peptide bonds
- optimum pH is between 7.5 and 8.5
What is meant by an enzymes active site?
indented area on the surface of an enzyme molecule, with a shape that is complimentary to the shape of the substrate molecule
How does the tertiary structure of the active size on an enzyme molecule affect its function?
- the tertiary structure of the active site is crucial, as its shape is complimentary to the shape of the substrate molecule
- each type of enzyme is highly specific in its function, as it can only catalyse a reaction involving the particular type of substrate molecule that fits into its active site
What is a cofactor?
- substances that must be present to ensure an enzyme-catalysed reaction occurs at the appropriate rate
- they can be part of the enzyme structure or can form temporary associations with the enzyme
What is the name of a cofactor which is permanently bound to the enzyme structure?
prosthetic group