ABSTRACT
Reactions in the environment involve chemical, biochemical, and physical processes. It is well known that most biochemical reactions are catalyzed by enzymes, which are proteins with catalytic properties. Catalysts are substances that, without undergoing permanent alteration, cause chemical reaction to proceed at faster rates. In addition, enzymes are specific for the type of chemical reactions in which they participate. All living systems, ranging from bacteria to the animal kingdom, from algae and molds to the higher plants, contain a vast number of enzymes catalyzing both simple and complex networks of chemical reactions. Enzymes also are found in ponds, lakes, rivers, water treatment plants, animal manures, and soils and exist either as extracellular forms separated from their origins or as intracellular forms as part of the living biomass. These enzymes are involved in the synthesis of proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and other components of living systems and also in the degradation and essential cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and other nutrients.
