How Enzymes Learn to Distinguish Between Molecules
· newswise.com · popularity 16/100 · 0 similar stories today · Physics & Chemistry (Science)
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Summary
Enzymes are the molecular tools of life. They accelerate chemical reactions and are able to distinguish very precisely between molecules that are similar to one another. The high selectivity of many enzymes is key to the production of important medicines such as penicillin and cyclosporine. But how did enzymes develop this ability to distinguish between similar chemical functionalities with such precision? An international research team, including researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), has investigated this question using a group of plant enzymes known as borneol dehydrogenases as a case study. The results show that it is not only changes in catalytic center of the enzyme, but also changes at other sites on the protein, which together can have a decisive influence on an enzyme's selectivity. The results of the study have been published in Nature Communications.
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