Theory 12/Hysteresis & Memory/Enzymes
Enzymes Remember Substrate
The claim
Enzymes retain a conformational memory of their last substrate, so turnover rate depends on the order in which substrates are presented, not only on the current one.
01Mechanism
Conformational changes relax more slowly than binding; the enzyme's state at the moment of the next encounter depends on the previous one.
02Prediction
Turnover should differ for the same substrate in different presentation orders.
03Refutation
Turnover independent of history would remove the memory.