Introduction to Extracellular Enzymes: From the Ribosome to the Market Place

Abstract

This chapter discusses the general properties of extracellular enzymes. It describes rhe features of extracellular enzymes that are common to their synthesis, to their manipulation, in their stability, and to the entire spectrum of the reactions that they catalyze. Future advances in the application of extracellular enzymes and other enzymes are also presented. The extracellular enzymes are, majorly, hydrolases are important in basic studies because they are produced in high concentrations, they are easy to purify, they are easy to assay, they are stable, and they have relatively low molecular weights. Microbially produced extracellular enzymes are of ecological significance. They hydrolyze the macromolecules that are too large to be transported into many types of microbial cells. In contrast to the many labile enzymes, extracellular enzymes survive fairly adverse conditions. Many are able to tolerate high temperatures and survive for relatively long periods of time in soil, the open sea, the sediments of oceans and freshwater lakes, and even in activated sludge.