In the rete mirabile serving the red swimming muscles oftunas, some key enzymes of catabolism show gradients ofconcentration: They are more concentrated at the cold end of therete, and less concentrated at the warm end. These variationsparallel variations that are often seen in the thermal acclimationof poikilotherms, when enzyme concentrations rise duringacclimation to cold and fall during acclimation to heat. Whatdo you think could be some of the reasons for these spatial andtemporal variations in enzyme concentration? Why not havethe highest observed enzyme concentrations everywhere at alltimes?
Enzyme kinetics
In biochemistry, enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts. Catalysis is the addition of a catalyst to a chemical reaction to speed up the pace of the reaction. Catalysis can be categorized as either homogeneous or heterogeneous, depending on whether the catalysts are distributed in the same phase as that of the reactants. Enzymes are an essential part of the cell because, without them, many organic processes would slow down and thus will affect the processes that are important for cell survival and sustenance.
Regulation of Enzymes
A substance that acts as a catalyst to regulate the reaction rate in the living organism's metabolic pathways without itself getting altered is an enzyme. Most of the biological reactions and metabolic pathways in the living systems are carried out by enzymes. They are specific for their works and work in particular conditions. It maintains the best possible rate of reaction in the most stable state. The enzymes have distinct properties as they can proceed with the reaction in any direction, their particular binding sites, pH specificity, temperature specificity required in very few amounts.
In the rete mirabile serving the red swimming muscles of
tunas, some key enzymes of catabolism show gradients of
concentration: They are more concentrated at the cold end of the
rete, and less concentrated at the warm end. These variations
parallel variations that are often seen in the thermal acclimation
of poikilotherms, when enzyme concentrations rise during
acclimation to cold and fall during acclimation to heat. What
do you think could be some of the reasons for these spatial and
temporal variations in enzyme concentration? Why not have
the highest observed enzyme concentrations everywhere at all
times?
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