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Microbial metabolism is the means by which a microbe obtains the energy and nutrients (e.g. carbon) it needs to live and reproduce. Microbes use many different types of metabolic strategies and species can often be differentiated from each other based on metabolic characteristics.
The production of methane is an important and widespread form of microbial metabolism. In anoxic environments, it is the final step in the decomposition of biomass. Methanogenesis is responsible for significant amounts of natural gas accumulations, the remainder being thermogenic. [1] [2] [3]
The reactants, products, and intermediates of an enzymatic reaction are known as metabolites, which are modified by a sequence of chemical reactions catalyzed by enzymes. [1]: 26 In most cases of a metabolic pathway, the product of one enzyme acts as the substrate for the next. However, side products are considered waste and removed from the cell.
Industrial fermentation can be used for enzyme production, where proteins with catalytic activity are produced and secreted by microorganisms. The development of fermentation processes, microbial strain engineering and recombinant gene technologies has enabled the commercialization of a wide range of enzymes.
Enzymes (/ ˈ ɛ n z aɪ m z /) are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions.The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products.
The BCKA decarboxylase enzyme is composed of two subunits in a tetrameric structure (A 2 B 2) and is essential for the synthesis of branched-chain fatty acids. It is responsible for the decarboxylation of α-keto acids formed by the transamination of valine, leucine, and isoleucine and produces the primers used for branched-chain fatty acid ...
Biosynthesis, i.e., chemical synthesis occurring in biological contexts, is a term most often referring to multi-step, enzyme-catalyzed processes where chemical substances absorbed as nutrients (or previously converted through biosynthesis) serve as enzyme substrates, with conversion by the living organism either into simpler or more complex ...
Scientists have also exploited their knowledge of microbes to produce biotechnologically important enzymes such as Taq polymerase, [27] reporter genes for use in other genetic systems and novel molecular biology techniques such as the yeast two-hybrid system. [28] Bacteria can be used for the industrial production of amino acids.