Database of Enzyme Catalytic Mechanisms
I thought the enzyme catalytic mechanisms (ECM) database would be a nice follow up from yesterday.
The amazing part about this database is not the number of entries (720), but in the details. The ECM has devised a classification of enzymatic reactions which are as follows:
R: Basic Reaction
L: Ligand group involved in catalysis
C: Catalysis type
P: Residues/cofactors located on Proteins.
This classification system creates a hierarchy that is then search able by the user. The hydrolysis classification even has pictures of the general mechanisms. Here is an example of a Pepsin-like mechanism and Trypsin-like mechanism. If you or your students are learning general mechanisms a number of these illustrations could serve as excellent real world examples.
The search page contains a number of unique inputs.
For example, ECM utilizes the KEGG pathway database to generate a reference pathway.
Note: use the bottom search button not the top, which is (above the fold) if you do not have a DB code input.