Acceleration of enzymatic catalysis by active hydrodynamic fluctuations

Abstract

Cells are teeming with biochemical nano-machines whose vigorous activity generates strong hydrodynamic fluctuations. The authors revamp transition-state theory to account for the effect of this active noise and find that it may significantly accelerate the turnover rate of enzymes, thus proposing a physical picture of enzymatic catalysis as a collective process with long-range hydrodynamic coupling.