Chapter 4: Enzymes Flashcards
(213 cards)
It is a rod-shaped bacterium originally discovered in a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park
Thermus aquaticus
Thermus aquaticus can survive at what temperature?
Temperatures between 50°C and 80°C
How do these organisms survive at these extreme temperatures that would cook the life-forms with which we are more familiar?
- the structure of the enzyme that carry out all the work of the cells
- held together by many more attractive forces
- these proteins are stable and functional even at temperatures above the boiling point of water
Why was the T. aquaticus discovery important?
It is used in PCR, since Taq polymerase from T. aquaticus can withstand the temperature constraints of PCR.
What is PCR?
- Polymerase Chain Reaction
- it is a laboratory technique for rapidly producing (amplifying) millions to billions of copies of a specific segment of DNA
Steps in PCR:
- Denaturation of helical DNA (94-96˚C)
- Annealing (68˚C)
- Elongation (72˚)
When was the Biological catalysis first recognized and described?
late 1700s
Biological catalysis was first recognized and described in studies on the ___
digestion of meat by secretions of the stomach
What examination takes place in the 1800s?
The conversion of starch to sugar by saliva and various plant extracts
In the 1850s, he concluded that fermentation of sugar into alcohol by yeast is catalyzed by “ferments”
Louis Pasteur
These ferments were inseparable from the structure of living yeast cells
Vitalism
In 1897, he discovered that yeast extracts could ferment sugar to alcohol, proving that fermentation was promoted by molecules that continued to function when removed from cells.
Eduard Buchner
He gave the name enzymes
Frederick W. Kuhne
Etymology of the word Enzyme (Greek)
“en” means inside
“zymos” means yeast
In 1926, he’s discovery was a breakthrough in early enzyme studies
James Sumner
What was the discovery of James Sumner that brought a breakthrough in early enzyme studies?
The isolation and crystallization of urease
What was Sumner found out and his assumption?
- urease crystals consisted entirely of protein
- all enzymes are proteins
In 1930s, they found out that crys pepsin, trypsin, and other digestive enzymes are also proteins
John Northrop and Moses Kunitz
What did J. B. S. Haldane wrote?
A treatise titled Enzymes
What was the remarkable suggestion of Haldane?
That weak bonding interactions between an enzyme and its substrate might be used to catalyze a reaction
Protein that is specialized to catalyze metabolic reactions
Enzyme (occasionally RNA; ribozymes)
Enzymes catalyze the reactions that break down food molecules to allow the cell to ___ ____
harvest energy
Enzymes, also catalyze the biosynthetic reactions that produce the great variety of ______ _____ for ____ ___
molecules required for cellular life
How important is the Enzymes to life?
About a quarter of the genes in the human genome encode enzymes