β-glucosidases are a diverse group of enzymes which hydrolyse glycosidic bonds and are present in a wide variety of organisms. One of their uses in the food industry is the hydrolysis of bitter compounds during juice extraction to increase the sweetness of the final product. These enzymes are often immobilised when used in the food industry to increase production and save on costs.
Scientists compared the activity of free β-glucosidase to that of immobilised β-glucosidase over a range of different temperatures. Their results are shown in the graph below.
Which of the following would be the most valid comparison between free and immobilised β-glucosidase?
Immobilised β-glucosidase activity increases at a faster rate than free enzyme activity for temperatures below the optimum. However, activity decreases at a slower rate for temperatures above the optimum temperature.
The activity of free β-glucosidase decreases at a lower rate for temperatures above the optimum, compared to the immobilised enzyme. The activity of immobilised enzymes is 400 % higher than the activity of free enzymes at 60 °C.
The activity of immobilised β-glucosidase decreases at a lower rate for temperatures above the optimum, compared to the free enzyme. The activity of immobilised enzymes is 400 % higher than the activity of free enzymes at 60 °C.
The activity of free β-glucosidase increases at a faster rate for temperatures below optimum compared to the immobilised enzyme, however, activity decreases at a slower rate above the optimum temperature