Ch. 2 - Chemical Principles

Tortora - Microbiology: An Introduction 14th Edition

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Tortora 14th Edition

Ch. 2 - Chemical Principles

Problem 5

Chapter 2, Problem 5

Bacteria use the enzyme urease to obtain nitrogen in a form they can use from urea in the following reaction:

What purpose does the enzyme serve in this reaction? What type of reaction is this?

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Identify the role of the enzyme urease in the reaction. Enzymes act as biological catalysts, meaning they speed up chemical reactions without being consumed in the process.

Understand that urease specifically catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea, breaking it down into ammonia and carbon dioxide. This process helps bacteria obtain nitrogen in a usable form (ammonia).

Recognize the type of reaction catalyzed by urease. Since it involves the breakdown of a molecule (urea) by the addition of water, this is a hydrolysis reaction.

Summarize that the enzyme's purpose is to lower the activation energy of the hydrolysis reaction, allowing bacteria to efficiently convert urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide for nitrogen assimilation.

Conclude that urease facilitates a hydrolysis reaction, which is a type of catabolic reaction where a compound is split by water, enabling bacteria to access nitrogen from urea.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Role of Enzymes in Biochemical Reactions

Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions without being consumed. They lower the activation energy required, allowing reactions to proceed faster and under milder conditions. In this case, urease catalyzes the breakdown of urea to release usable nitrogen.

Urease and Nitrogen Metabolism

Urease is an enzyme that hydrolyzes urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide. This reaction provides bacteria with ammonia, a form of nitrogen they can assimilate for synthesizing amino acids and other nitrogen-containing compounds essential for growth.

Hydrolysis Reaction

The reaction catalyzed by urease is a hydrolysis reaction, where water is used to break chemical bonds—in this case, breaking urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide. Hydrolysis reactions are common in metabolism for breaking down complex molecules.

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Related Practice

Textbook Question

The best definition of ATP is that it is

a. A molecule stored for food use.

b. A molecule that supplies energy to do work.

c. A molecule stored for an energy reserve.

d. A molecule used as a source of phosphate.

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Textbook Question

Which of the following is an organic molecule?

a. H₂O (water)

b. O₂ (oxygen)

c. C₁₈H₂₉SO₃

d. FeO (iron oxide)

e. F₂C=CF₂ (Teflon)

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Textbook Question

Radioisotopes are frequently used to label molecules in a cell. The fate of atoms and molecules in a cell can then be followed. This process is the basis for the following question.

If E. coli were grown in a medium containing the radioactive isotope ³²P, the ³²P would be found in all of the following molecules of the cell except

a. ATP.

b. Carbohydrates.

c. DNA.

d. Plasma membrane.

e. Complex lipids.

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Textbook Question

Classify the following as subunits of either a carbohydrate, lipid, protein, or nucleic acid.

a. <IMAGE>

b. <IMAGE>

c. <IMAGE>

d. Thymine nucleotide