Page 193 - The Manga Guide to Biochemistry

What exactly do you mean when If additional brooms arrive
you say “each of the enzymes is at a place where there are

combined with a substrate”? not enough brooms and
some people are standing

around bored...

Broom

Okay, imagine ...Leaf cleaning will speed up,
a place where since those people will also
everyone sweeps
up fallen leaves. be able to help out, right?

But if everyone is already If some new substrate is added
sweeping with a broom, leaf when there are enzymes just

cleaning would not speed hanging around doing nothing,
up no matter how many the entire reaction will speed up
new brooms arrive. because those enzyme molecules

Do you see the Wham will begin to work.
connection?
Substrate

Enzyme

I think However, if all of the enzymes
so. are already working, the

So if you think of the brooms as the reaction will not speed up even if
substrate and the people as the enzyme, there is new substrate added.
then you can see what we mean by
the substrate concentration. You can see the Vmax line, which is the fastest
Here, substrate concentration rate at which the reaction can take place.
is the x-axis, and the number of
enzymes is fixed (doesn’t change). Notice that when the rate reaches this line, the
substrate concentration can get higher and
Reaction rate (V) higher without affecting the reaction rate.

Will not increase
above this

Maximum reaction
rate Vmax

Substrate concentration (S)