range can result in a change in the biochemical makeup of closely related species, and second, that within the barracudas studied here, Km and Kcat both show highly consistent values at environmental temperature.
Figure 2.10 The effect of temperature on apparent Michaelis constant (Km) of pyruvate for the M4‐LDH's of three eastern Pacific barracudas. The Km values for the southern temperate barracuda, S. idiastes (not shown), are statistically indistinguishable from those of the northern temperate species S. argentea. Error bars represent standard deviations. Each point represents an average of Km values determined with at least three different purified LDH preparations from different individuals of each species. Solid portions of the lines connecting the Km values indicate habitat temperature ranges of the species.
Source: Graves and Somero (1982), figure 3 (p. 103). Reproduced with the permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Table 2.1 Km and Kcat values of pyruvate for three congeneric species of barracudas (genus Sphyraena) from different habitat temperatures at 25 °C and the temperature mid‐range (TM) for each species. S. argentea is a cold‐temperate species, S. lucasana is a warm‐temperate species, and S. ensis is a tropical‐subtropical species.
Source: Graves and Somero (1982), table 5 (p. 104). Reproduced with the permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
| S. argentea | S. lucasana | S. ensis | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Km of pyruvate at 25 °C | 0.34 ± 0.03 mM | 0.26 ± 0.02 mM | 0.20 ± 0.02 mM |
| Kcat at 25 °C | 893 ± 54 s−1 | 730 ± 37 s−1 | 658 ± 19 s−1 |
| Temp. midrange (TM) | 18 °C | 23 °C | 26 °C |
| Km of pyruvate at TM | 0.24 mM | 0.24 mM | 0.23 mM |
| Kcat at TM | 667 s−1 | 682 s−1 | 700 s−1 |
What Properties of Enzymes Can Be Changed?
The three curves in Figure 2.11 show Michaelis–Menten saturation kinetics, exhibiting three very different relationships between reaction velocity and substrate concentration. They illustrate the balance between the need for efficient catalysis and the need for the cell to be able to regulate its metabolism.
Curve A has a low Km value; it will always be at or near Vmax. Any need for an increase in activity to support increased metabolic demand cannot be met; the enzyme is already at maximum. A low Km is a fine strategy for an enzyme that does not need to be regulated, such as a digestive enzyme, which is best always functioning at maximum velocity. However, for an enzyme involved in metabolism, which varies from a resting to a highly active state, such a curve would be disastrous. Increases in substrate concentration would not affect its activity, and it would be unable to be regulated. Conversely, a high Km such as that in curve C will have a considerable amount of “reserve capacity” to allow for regulation but will never achieve high velocity and could become a “choke point” for accumulation of metabolites. An enzyme having an intermediate Km, curve B, not only has a substantial fraction of its Vmax at cellular concentrations of substrate but also has considerable ability to respond to increases in substrate concentration before it reaches Vmax. Conclusion: for optimal performance, the enzyme properties and the substrate concentrations available to the enzyme must be complementary.
How variable are physiological substrate concentrations? The answer is, not very: physiological substrate concentrations are highly conserved. Figure 2.12 shows the Km of pyruvate in LDH from vertebrate species of a wide variety of taxa and habitat temperatures. All Kms fall between 0.15 and 0.35 mM. Thus, a change in Km does not appear to be an option in the possibilities available for modification to accommodate temperature change.
Figure 2.11 Michaelis–Menten saturation kinetics: three types of relationships between reaction velocity and substrate concentration. In (A) the Km value is low and always at or near Vmax so that the need for an increase in activity to support increased metabolic demand cannot be met. In (B), the Km value is intermediate and a substantial fraction of its Vmax is at cellular concentrations of substrate giving it considerable ability to respond to increases in substrate concentration before it reaches Vmax. In (C), the Km is high with a considerable amount of “reserve capacity” to allow for regulation but without the ability to ever achieve high velocity and thus the potential to become a “choke point” for accumulation of metabolites.
What other properties of an enzyme can be modified if Km is not an option? Consider Kcat, the rate at which substrate is converted to product per unit time per active site. If we look at a plot of Kcat vs. body temperature in a large suite of differently thermally adapted vertebrate species (Figure 2.13), it is clear that Kcat declines considerably with increasing species’ habitat temperature. Large differences exist between the Kcat of highly cold‐adapted species and warm‐adapted ectotherms and endotherms. So, unlike Km, which is highly conserved, we do see large changes with adaptation temperature in Kcat, enzyme efficiency.
Let us now consider how enzymes function. The three‐dimensional conformation of an enzyme and its overall primary structure are somewhat variable between species. However, the structure of the binding sites within the active site, or catalytic vacuole, is highly conserved (Hochachka and Somero 2002). Further, the actual covalent chemistry that takes place during the enzymatic reaction is fast and likely not the limiting step in the turnover of enzyme. The limiting step is more likely related to conformational changes. How do we reconcile the facts that binding sites in the A4 – LDHs are invariant from species to species, yet we observe a high degree of variability in Kcats? The answer is in changes of structure outside the catalytic vacuole
