Role of enzymes in metabolism

What are some real-world applications of enzymes?

Biotechnology (PCR); Medicine (enzyme inhibitors); Industry (detergents, food production).

What is the role of enzymes in metabolism?

Enzymes catalyze the chemical reactions necessary to sustain life.

What would happen to metabolic reactions without enzymes?

They would occur too slowly to sustain life.

Define metabolism.

The sum of all chemical reactions in an organism, including catabolism and anabolism.

What is catabolism?

The breakdown of molecules to release energy.

What is anabolism?

The building of molecules for growth and repair.

Why do organisms need thousands of different enzymes?

Each metabolic reaction requires a specific enzyme.

What is enzyme specificity?

The ability of an enzyme to catalyze only one reaction or a group of closely related reactions.

What is the active site of an enzyme?

The region where the substrate binds and the reaction occurs.

How are metabolic pathways regulated?

Through enzyme specificity, inhibitors, activators, and feedback mechanisms.

What is feedback inhibition?

When the end product of a pathway inhibits an early enzyme to stop the process.

Give an example of feedback inhibition.

Isoleucine inhibits threonine deaminase to prevent overproduction.

What is allosteric regulation?

Activation or inhibition of an enzyme by molecules binding to allosteric sites, altering its shape and activity.

Give an example of allosteric regulation.

ATP inhibits phosphofructokinase in glycolysis when ATP levels are high.

How does gene expression regulate enzyme production?

Cells adjust enzyme levels by increasing or decreasing expression of the corresponding genes.

Give an example of gene expression regulation in enzymes.

The lac operon controls production of lactose-metabolizing enzymes, repressing them when lactose is absent.