Page 34 - The Miraculous Machine that Works for an Entire Lifetime: Enzyme
P. 34
Harun Yahya
more complex structure.
Enzymes are proteins with a three-dimensional tertiary structure.
By folding and bending, the amino acids making up their proteins en-
dow enzymes with a special shape that's of the greatest importance, be-
cause they enable a great many life-giving functions to take place. Their
three-dimensional tertiary structure permits polypeptide chains to fold
over, knot together or wind around themselves, and permits enzymes
themselves to vary greatly.
The tertiary structure endows an enzyme with still other proper-
ties. The primary structure of proteins consists solely of covalent
bonds—a form of chemical bonding formed by the sharing of electrons
between atoms. These powerful bonds decrease ever further in subse-
quent structures, until in a quaternary structure there are no covalent
bonds at all. In a tertiary structure, the covalent bonds that form en-
zymes appear only in regions between adjacent chains. This enables on-
ly the surface regions of the enzyme to bond tightly to one another in
order to grasp molecules and let them enter into reactions. The power
An enzyme's three-dimensional form determines whether it is involved in blood co-
agulation or digestion. This fact is just one of the astonishing details in the perfect
structures created by Allah.
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