1. Tardigrade
  2. Question
  3. Biology
  4. Organic compound firmly bound to an apoenzyme to make it catalytically active is

Question Error Report

Thank you for reporting, we will resolve it shortly

Back to Question

Q. Organic compound firmly bound to an apoenzyme to make it catalytically active is

NTA AbhyasNTA Abhyas 2020Biomolecules

Solution:

Cofactors are the non-protein constituents that bound to an enzyme to make it catalytically active.
Cofactors can be of 3 types:
$1.$ Prosthetic groups: Organic compound firmly bound to an apoenzyme, e.g., haem is a prosthetic group for peroxidase and catalase which mediates the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen.
$2.$ Coenzymes: Organic compound loosely bound to an apoenzyme, e.g., most of the members of the vitamin B complex. Coenzymes NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) and NADP (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) contain vitamin niacin.
$3.$ Metal ions: These form coordination bonds with the side chains at the active site of the enzyme and simultaneously with 1 or more coordination bonds with the substrate, e.g., zinc act as a cofactor for carboxypeptidase enzyme.