GENE 500 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Reaction Rate, Activation Energy, Macromolecule
Document Summary
Proteins that catalyze chemical reactions the making and breaking of covalent bonds are called enzymes, and the ligands of enzymes are called substrates. Another form of catalytic macromolecule in cells is made from rna. Enzymes increase the reaction rate by lowering the energy of the transition state, and therefore the activation energy required to reach it. Products are at the lower energy state than the reactants. Plots of initial reaction velocity versus substrate concentration with a substrate s for which the enzyme has a high affinity and with a substrate s for (cid:449)hi(cid:272)h the e(cid:374)zy(cid:373)e has a lo(cid:449)er affi(cid:374)ity. Note that vmax is the same with both substrates because [e] is the same, but that km is higher for s , the low-affinity substrate. Remember that the product released is at a lower energy state than the energy state of the starting material.
