Enzymes are protein substances that catalyze various biochemical reactions within a biological system. Here we are going to find out the answer of, is enzyme a macromolecule or not.
With the concern to the question, the answer is yes, an enzyme is a macromolecule. As a macromolecule it is present within almost every biological system or living organism and catalyzes various biochemical reactions. It is available in very little amount but has a strong impact. Most of them are reusable means used in various metabolic reactions back to back.
What is a macromolecule?
As enzymes are macromolecular components that exist in biological systems, to understand their structural and functional features we need to understand what is the macromolecule.
The macromolecules are very large molecules present in the living system, composed of much larger numbers of atoms. They are formed by the polymerization of smaller molecules called monomers.Macromolecules are so huge that they are even made up of more than 10,000 atoms such as carbohydrate molecules, lipid molecules, protein molecules, nucleic acids, etc. These macromolecules are used within an organism’s body to carry out various life activities.
Are all enzymes considered macromolecules?
Enzymes are proteinaceous components present within a biological system. Several different types of enzymes are found, containing distinct structural and functional features.
As there are several different types of enzymes found it would be confusing that all enzymes are macromolecules or not. So the answer is yes each and every enzyme present within a biological system are considered as macromolecules. Thus they are made up of a high number of monomers, polymerized together.
Why is enzyme a macromolecule?
As enzymes are one of the major macromolecules found in cellular systems, it’s very important to know why they are categorized so.
The enzymes are macromolecules because they are made up of different proteinaceous components which are macromolecules itself. Any protein substance is made up of several peptide groups or amino acids, which means more atoms are involved in the structure of a protein molecule. Which means enzymes as proteinaceous components also have a large number of atoms in it, hence considered as macromolecules.
How is enzyme a macromolecule?
The cellular molecules are mainly categorized into two types such as micromolecules and macromolecules. All the enzymes are categorized as macromolecules.
The macromolecules are the polymers, made by polymerization of several monomers. If we look at the general structure of enzymes, it is found that most of the enzymes are globular proteins made up of several amino acid monomers, polymerized together by peptide bonds. So just like an ideal macromolecule enzymes are made up of several amino acid monomers hence they are categorized as macromolecules.
What are the macromolecule enzymes?
Enzymes are one of the major components present in the living cell environment, increasing the integrity of a reaction and they all are typically considered as macromolecules.
Some most common macromolecule enzymes are – oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, ligases, isomerases, etc. All of these enzymes are made up of several amino acid monomers and have a good molecular weight. All of these macromolecular enzymes are present within the body of a living organism and facilitates various biochemical reactions continuously.
Is Enzyme A Macromolecule Wikimedia Commons
Is enzyme a large macromolecule?
Enzymes are proteinaceous components made up of several amino acid monomers, considered as cellular macromolecules.
The enzymes are large macromolecules present in the body of every living being. They majorly have a large folded structure. The structure of an enzyme is designed so that they can easily bind with specific substrates in their substrate binding site and can undergo conformational changes also. They are large enough to bind small or medium sized substrates in their body.
Some most common examples of large macromolecular enzymes are-
- Oxidoreductases
- Transferases
- Hydrolases
- Lyases
- Ligases
- isomerases
Oxidoreductases
Oxidoreductases is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of electrons from one molecule to another one. It is also made up of several peptide groups or amino acids polymerized together.
Transferases
Transferases is one of the large macromolecular enzymes that catalyzes transfer of specific functional groups from one molecule to another. It is also made up of several peptide groups or amino acids polymerized together.
Hydrolases
Hydrolases are one of the large macromolecular enzymes, breaks chemical bonds during biochemical reactions using water molecules. It is also made up of several peptide groups or amino acids polymerized together.
Lyases
Lyases is also one of the large macromolecular enzymes, known as eliminator. It is also made up of several peptide groups or amino acids polymerized together.
Ligases
Lyases is also one of the large macromolecular enzymes, it serves as glue and joins two large molecules by forming a new chemical bond in biochemical reactions. It is also made up of several peptide groups or amino acids polymerized together, hence having a large macromolecular structure.
Isomerases
Isomerases are one of the important cellular enzymes that convert a molecule from one isomer to another. It is also a large macromolecular enzyme that catalyzes biochemical reactions within cells.
Large Macromolecule enzymes by Wikimedia commons
What type of macromolecule is an enzyme?
The enzyme is a proteinaceous macromolecule, meaning it contains several peptide groups or amino acids polymerized together.
Conclusion
As a whole we can say that enzymes are cellular macromolecules that catalyze various biochemical reactions within a cell. Here we give the answer of Is Enzyme A Macromolecule or not. We also discuss 7 relevant facts about it. Hope the article on Is Enzyme A Macromolecule or not, will be helpful to you.
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Hello, I am Piyali Das, pursuing my Post Graduation in Zoology from Calcutta University. I am very passionate on Academic Article writing. My aim is to explain complex things in simple way through my writings for the readers.