Enzymes in the Environment: Ecology, Activity and Applications
Enzymes that function within plants, animals, and microorganisms are fundamental to
life, and their contributions to metabolic pathways and processes have been studied extensively.
For over 100 years there has been interest in what today is called ecological or
environmental enzymology. This aspect of enzymology originates from the work of
Woods, who, in 1899, wrote about the survival and function in soil of plant peroxidases
following their release from decaying plant roots. Environmental enzymologists recognize
that the measured activity may be a composite of reactions taking place in different locations
and at different rates. Thus, in addition to being intracellular, enzymes can be extracellular
and attached to the...
