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Kinetics of a Highly Conserved Enzyme - Carbonic Anhydrase

Author(s): Edward Orlando1, Stephen Miller2, Kathryn Monzo3, Lisa Feinman4

1. Howard Community College 2. University of Maryland Baltimore County 3. Montgomery College 4. Community College Baltimore County

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Summary:
This module contains exercises designed to introduce students to graphical representation of biological data. Students will explore the fundamental principles of enzyme kinetics including enzyme-substrate interactions, Michaelis-Menten kinetics,…

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This module contains exercises designed to introduce students to graphical representation of biological data. Students will explore the fundamental principles of enzyme kinetics including enzyme-substrate interactions, Michaelis-Menten kinetics, enzyme inhibition, and environmental factors influencing reaction rates. This module is designed to be implemented in one 60-minute discussion section.

Description

This module is designed for Introductory Biology students who are in their first biology course and should have completed algebra in mathematics.

Students are expected to complete the pre-module work, review, and come prepared with the prior foundational knowledge of:

  • Function of protein enzymes
  • Enzyme-substrate interactions
  • Environmental conditions affect on enzyme structure and function
  • Basic graphing concepts, such as linear vs. non-linear relationships
  • Calculation and interpretation of the slope of a graph
  • Create and interpret graphs using Excel

The pre-module work has two parts.  In the Biology section of the module pre-work, students will review how enzyme structure relates to function and how environmental conditions affect can affect protein function. In the Math section of the module pre-work, students will use graphing concepts to review relationships between data, interpret rates of change, and create scatter plots using Excel. An instructor’s version of the pre-module work, with answer key, is shared as “Instructors Only” resources.

In the classroom activity, students will apply their prior knowledge to analyze and interpret data to understand key parameters of enzyme activity, specifically Vmax and Km.  Students create a scatter plot using carbonic anhydrase activity data to explore how enzyme saturation affects reaction rates.  Students will estimate Vmax and Km from their graphs and predict how different types of inhibitors affect enzyme activity.  Finally, students will predict how environmental conditions, such as pH, affect enzyme activity.

This exercise combines theoretical concepts with practical data analysis to deepen students' understanding of enzyme kinetics and the factors that affect enzyme function.

This module was developed as part of a collaborative Improving Undergraduate Science Education (IUSE) grant funded by the National Science Foundation that was awarded to Anne Arundel Community College (DUE- 1821179), Community College of Baltimore County (DUE- 1821249), Howard Community College (DUE- 1820903), Montgomery College (DUE- 1821169), and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (DUE-1821274). We thank Melissa Penley Cormier for designing figures and other members of the IUSE Introductory Biology team for insightful comments that improved the module.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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