The key difference between hydrolase and transferase is that hydrolase is an enzyme that cleaves covalent bonds by the use of water while transferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of a functional group from one molecule to another molecule.
Hydrolase and transferase are two types of enzymes that catalyze biochemical reactions. Hydrolases use water in order to cleave covalent bonds in compounds. Hydrolases hydrolyze compounds into small compounds. Transferases are a group of enzymes that catalyze the transfer of non-water functional groups from one molecule to another molecule. They transfer acetyl, amino, methyl and phosphoryl groups, etc. among the compounds.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hydrolase
3. What is Transferase
4. Similarities Between Hydrolase and Transferase
5. Side by Side Comparison – Hydrolase vs Transferase in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Hydrolase?
Hydrolase is an enzyme that catalyzes the cleavage of covalent bonds in order to convert them into small molecules. In other words, hydrolases catalyze the hydrolysis of compounds by the use of water. Therefore, hydrolases catalyze the addition of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions of water to a molecule. As a result, the compound is split into two or more simple molecules.
Figure 01: Peptidase
There are many different types of hydrolases. Lipases, nucleases, glycosidases, proteases or peptidases are several types of hydrolases. Lipases cleave ester bonds between a carboxylic acid and an alcohol in lipids while nucleases hydrolyze phosphodiester bonds in nucleic acids. Glycosidases cleave glycosidic bonds in carbohydrates while peptidases break peptide bonds in proteins. Likewise, hydrolases hydrolyze high molecular weight compounds into smaller compounds or the building blocks.
What is Transferase?
Transferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of a functional group from one molecule (donor molecule) to another molecule (acceptor molecule). These functional groups are non-water functional groups. Transferases mainly transfer amine, carboxyl, carbonyl, methyl, acyl, glycosyl, and phosphoryl functional groups from donor to acceptor. The transferring of a functional group takes place as a nucleophilic substitution reaction.
Figure 02: Transferase
Methyltransferases, formyltransferases and transaldolases are several types of transferases. Methyltransferases transfer methyl (CH3) group from a donor to acceptor. Formyltransferases catalyze the transfer of formyl (CHO) groups while transaldolases transfer three carbon ketol groups. Moreover, acyl-transferases are another type of transferases that catalyze the transfer of acyl groups. Glycosyltransferase, sulfurtransferase and selenotransferase are also transferase enzymes.
What are the Similarities Between Hydrolase and Transferase?
- Hydrolase and transferase are two types of enzyme which act as biological catalysts of biochemical reactions.
- They speed up biochemical reactions.
- They are proteins and are specific for their substrates.
What is the Difference Between Hydrolase and Transferase?
Hydrolases are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of compounds using water. On the other hand, transferases are enzymes that catalyze the transfer of a functional group from one molecule to another. So, this is the key difference between hydrolase and transferase. Lipases, phosphatases, glycosidases, peptidases, and nucleosidases are several types of hydrolases. Meanwhile, methyltransferases, formyltransferases, acyltransferase, glycosyltransferase, sulfurtransferase and transaldolases are several types of transferases.
Below is a tabulation of the differences between hydrolase and transferase.
Summary – Hydrolase vs Transferase
Hydrolase and transferase are enzymes that speed up biochemical reactions. Hydrolases catalyze the hydrolysis of substances while transferases catalyze the transfer of functional groups from one molecule to another. Thus, this is the key difference between hydrolase and transferase. Hydrolases use water during the reaction. In contrast, transferases use non-water functional groups.
Reference:
1. “Transferase | Enzyme”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020, Available here.
2. “Hydrolase Introduction – Creative Enzymes”. Creative-Enzymes.Com, 2020, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Der P-1-3F5V” By E A S – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Alpha-Amanitin–RNA polymerase II complex 1K83” By Fvasconcellos 21:15, 14 November 2007 (UTC) – From PDB entry 1K83.More information:Bushnell DA, Cramer P, Kornberg RD (2002). “Structural basis of transcription: alpha-amanitin-RNA polymerase II cocrystal at 2.8 A resolution”. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99 (3): 1218–22. PMID 11805306. doi:10.1073/pnas.251664698 Free full text (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia