Q3. a) What do you understand by enzyme specificity? Briefly discuss the four different types of enzyme specificity.
ANS- Enzyme specificity refers to the tendency for enzymes to catalyze a specific set of chemical reactions. As explained by the Worthington Biochemical Corporation, some enzymes are absolutely specific and only catalyze one chemical reaction.
Specificity of Enzymes
One of the properties of enzymes that makes them so important as diagnostic and research tools is the specificity they exhibit relative to the reactions they catalyze. A few enzymes exhibit absolute specificity; that is, they will catalyze only one particular reaction. Other enzymes will be specific for a particular type of chemical bond or functional group. In general, there are four distinct types of specificity:
Absolute specificity - the enzyme will catalyze only one reaction.
Group specificity - the enzyme will act only on molecules that have specific functional groups, such as amino, phosphate and methyl groups.
Linkage specificity - the enzyme will act on a particular type of chemical bond regardless of the rest of the molecular structure.
Stereochemical specificity - the enzyme will act on a particular steric or optical isomer.
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