Question

Suppose that you extracted an enzyme from a bacterium and saw that addition of a protease increased the rate of reaction in a test tube. What is the best explanation?

1) The bacterial enzyme has been activated by proteolytic cleavage.
2) The protease also cleaves the substrate used by the bacterial enzyme.
3) The protease caused the bacterial enzyme to dimerize.
4) The bacterial enzyme altered the protease to cause it to catalyze the same reaction.

Answer 1

The best explanation for the increased rate of reaction is that the bacterial enzyme has been activated by proteolytic cleavage.

Step-by-step explanation:

The best explanation for the increased rate of reaction in the test tube after addition of a protease is that the bacterial enzyme has been activated by proteolytic cleavage. Proteolytic cleavage is a process in which a protease enzyme cleaves a protein at specific sites, causing it to become activated. In this case, the addition of the protease to the test tube resulted in the bacterial enzyme being cleaved, leading to its activation and an increase in the rate of reaction.