Microbiology

Microbiology

Part (A)

Enzyme

Enzyme is a protein that plays a role of catalyst biological (or biocatalyst), that is to say compound that facilitates reaction biochemical products without changing. It is capable of lowering the activation energy of a reaction and thus speeding up millions of times the chemical reactions of metabolism without altering the balance formed. Enzymes act at low concentrations and they found intact after the reaction.

According to the type of reactions catalyzed by enzymes are divided into six classes according to the hierarchical classification of enzymes (EC, EC - Enzyme Commission code). The classification has been proposed by the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology). Each class has subclasses, so that the enzyme described by a set of four numbers separated by periods. For example, pepsin is called EC 3.4.23.1. The first number is roughly describes the mechanism of the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme:

EC 1: Oxidoreductases, which catalyze oxidation or reduction. Example: catalase, alcohol dehydrogenase

EC 2: Transferase catalyzes the transfer of chemical groups from one substrate molecule to another. Transferases of emphasizing different kinases that carry a phosphate group, usually from ATP

EC 3: Hydrolases, which catalyze the hydrolysis of chemical bonds. Example: esterase, pepsin, trypsin, amylase, lipoprotein lipase

EC 4: Lyase catalyzing break chemical bonds without hydrolysis to form a double bond in one of the products

EC 5: Isomerase catalyzing structural or geometric changes in the substrate molecule

EC 6: Ligases that catalyze the formation of chemical bonds between substrates by hydrolysis of ATP. Example: DNA polymerase

As catalysts, enzymes accelerate both forward and reverse reactions, so, for example, are able to catalyze the lyase and feedback - joining the double bond.

These enzymes are used to enzyme control the texture, taste, appearance or nutritional value. Amylases degrade complex polysaccharides into simpler sugars, and proteases tenderize the meat proteins. An important objective of food biotechnology is the development of new food enzymes improving the quality of food processing.

In medicine, enzymes play an important role. Many drugs inhibit enzymes or increasing their impact in order to cure a disease. The most prominent representative of such drugs is probably the acetylsalicylic acid, which inhibits the enzyme cyclooxygenase and thus relieves pain, among other acts. The diagnostic uses enzymes to detect diseases. In the test strip for diabetic located, for example, an enzyme system, which under the action of glucose produces a substance, the content can be measured. Thus indirectly the blood sugar level is measured (Pommerville, 2004).

Part (B)

Microorganisms in Industrial Process

The microorganisms may act as producers or as contaminants in industrial processes. If you are producing is important to know their life cycle, their nutritional needs or behaviour against oxygen, if the organism is polluting industrial process of exploring ways to destroy it without damaging the outcome of the process.

There are certain characteristics that make microorganisms very suitable for industrial processes. Microorganisms not only possess a wide variety of enzymes to make a series of possible chemical conversions, it also has a relatively high metabolic ...