The effect of temperature on enzyme activity: new insights and their implications

The two established thermal properties of enzymes are their activation energy and their thermal stability. Arising from careful measurements of the thermal behaviour of enzymes, a new model, the Equilibrium Model, has been developed to explain more fully the effects of temperature on enzymes. The model describes the effect of temperature on enzyme activity in terms of a rapidly reversible active-inactive transition, in addition to an irreversible thermal inactivation. Two new thermal parameters, T-eq and Delta H-eq, describe the active-inactive transition, and enable a complete description of the effect of temperature on enzyme activity. We review here the Model itself, methods for the determination of T-eq and Delta H-eq, and the implications of the Model for the environmental adaptation and evolution of enzymes, and for biotechnology.