Enzymes

• What is the primary function of enzymes in biological reactions?


  To speed up the rate of metabolic reactions
• What does the lock and key hypothesis suggest about enzyme and substrate interaction?

  There is an exact fit between the substrate and the active site of the enzyme
• What type of proteins are enzymes classified as?

  Tertiary proteins
• How do enzymes achieve specificity in their reactions?

  Each enzyme reacts with particular substrate molecules
• What maintains the special 3D globular shape of an enzyme?


  Tertiary protein bonding
• What forms when a substrate binds to an enzyme?


  An enzyme-substrate complex
• What is the role of lysozyme in biological systems?

  To destroy pathogenic bacteria by breaking down their cell walls
• What type of reaction does lysozyme catalyze?

  A catabolic reaction
• What is the structure of the bacterial cell wall primarily composed of?

  A polysaccharide consisting of chains of amino sugars
• How does lysozyme break down the bacterial cell wall?

  By breaking glycosidic bonds between the amino sugars
• What does the induced fit hypothesis propose about enzyme activity?

  The active site changes shape to fit the substrate molecule perfectly
• What does the broad specificity of some enzymes, like lipase, imply?

  Several different substrates can react with the same enzyme
• What role do disulphide bonds play in enzyme structure?

  They help maintain the 3D globular shape of the enzyme
• What is the active site of an enzyme?

  The groove in the enzyme where the substrate fits
• How does the substrate interact with the active site of an enzyme?

  The substrate has a complementary shape and fits into the active site
• What is the significance of the groove on the lysozyme molecule?

  • It allows a section of polysaccharide, six amino sugars long, to fit into the groove
  • The substrate is held in place by hydrogen and ionic bonds
• What happens to the polysaccharide during the reaction catalyzed by lysozyme?

  • The polysaccharide is broken at a specific site each time