What types of factors influence enzymatic function and why?
Title (2 points)
• Should be a detailed statement that concisely and accurately describes the purpose of your experiment
Introduction (34 points)
• Rational for the importance of the study (12 total subdivided as below)
o Cite information about enzymatic function (4)
o What is the biological role of enzymes? (4)
o What types of factors influence enzymatic function and why? (4)
• Necessary background information (10 points total)
o What enzyme are we focusing on? (2)
o What is the function of the enzyme? (4)
o From what model system will we obtain the enzyme?
Explain how it will be used. (4)
• Basis or rational for the experiment (10 points total)
o What are we testing? (3)
o Why are we testing it? (3)
o Also include any information to support your predications in the hypothesis
? For instance: why might you expect one preparation to have a faster reaction rate than the other? (4)
• Statement of hypothesis (2 points)
Literature Cited (4 points total)
• Use a separate Literature Cited section listing all references cited. (1)
• Use in text citations within the body of your writing assignment. (1)
• Minimum of 4 references must be cited
o Use at least 2 primary journal articles or reviews (2)
o Use 2 textbook or website references
Enzyme Kinetics Enzyme Kinetics: Extraction and Determination of Wheat Germ Acid Phosphatase Activity (Adapted from Modem Biology Inc.) Background Information Enzymes Enzymes are proteins that function to speed up chemical processes in living cells. For this reason they are often referred to as catalysts. There are numerous enzymes present in all living cells. They serve to increase the velocity or speed of the chemical reactions that take place in biological systems including breakdown, synthesis and chemical transfer reactions. In doing this, enzymes keep biological systems functioning properly. Figure 1-1. Enzyme Action. Enzyme (E) + Substrate (S) II Enzyme-Substrate Complex (E-S) Enzyme (E) + Product (P) Several components are involved in an enzymatic reaction. Substrate (S) is the compound that is acted on by the enzyme. The enzyme binds to the substrate to form the enzyme-substrate (ES) complex. This interaction is critical for the specific nature of enzyme action. Why might formation of the ES complex be important for providing specificity? As illustrated in Figure 1-1 above, binding of the enzyme to the substrate has a lock and key type interaction, meaning enzymes will only bind chemical species that fit the “lock”; the specific nature of this interaction helps ensure that only the appropriate substrate is acted on by the-enzyme. Once the ES complex is formed, the enzyme alters the structural conformation of the substrate in such a way that the substrate is converted to a product. The enzyme is simply used to facilitate the conversion of the substrate to product. Once this occurs, the enzyme is released and free to combine with more substrate so that more products can be generated.