Which of the following is a characteristic exhibited by enzyme catalysts?
Low degree of specificity
Low efficiency
Highly efficient and specific
Highly efficient and unspecific
Enzyme catalysts are highly efficient, as one molecule of an enzyme may transform one million molecules of the reactant per minute. They are also highly specific, as each enzyme is specific for a given reaction, and one catalyst cannot catalyze more than one reaction The specificity of an enzyme depends on its three-dimensional structure, which is determined by its amino acid sequence. This specificity allows enzymes to catalyze specific reactions without interfering with other reactions in the cell. Thus, enzymes are critical for the proper functioning of biological systems.