The control of metabolic processes

The metabolic pathways are complex and interdependent. With the changing environments the reactions of metabolism must be finely regulated to maintain a constant set of conditions within cells, a condition called homeostasis. Control of metabolic pathways also allows organisms to respond to signals and interact actively with their environments.

Concept of control and regulation

Regulation of metabolic pathways includes regulation of an enzyme in a pathway by increasing or decreasing its response to signals.

Control involves monitoring the effects that these changes in an enzyme’s activity have on the overall rate of the pathway. For example, an enzyme may show large changes in activity being highly regulated but if these changes have little effect on the flux of a metabolic pathway, then this enzyme is not involved in the control of the pathway.