In: Biology
we were introduced to hydrolytic enzymes, list two enzymes and their function. Using your critical thinking, explain why it is of importance to identify microorganism that have hydrolytic abilities.
Hydrolytic enzymes are those enzymes which break down chemical bonds using water. This results in the break down of a larger molecule into smaller molecules.
Some examples of groups of hydrolytic enzymes are lipases, phosphatases, peptidases, glycosidases, etc. Glycosidases cleave sugar molecules off carbohydrates whereas peptidases hydrolyze peptide bonds in proteins.
Pepsin is a common example of peptidase. It is secreted in the stomach and helps in the digestion of protein by breaking the peptide bonds.
Cellulase is another common hydrolytic enzyme which falls under the category of a glycosidase and helps in the degradation of cellulose.
Hydrolytic enzymes are very important for us in our daily life and for various research and industrial use. Thus, it becomes important to identify microorganisms from where these can be isolated and manufactured in large quantities. These can also help in extraction of starch, lipid, proteins, etc. from cheap and unwanted waste material. Also, extraction of these enzymes from different microorganisms might give us different variants of these enzymes which work under different conditions and then we can use the one which is most suited for a particular set of conditions.
Various industrial uses of these isolated can be in the textile industry to improve the quality of the fabrics; in the paper and pulp industry; food industry; detergent industry, etc.