Effects of Macromolecular Crowding on the Intrinsic Catalytic Efficiency and Structure of Enterobactin-Specific Isochorismate Synthase

Macromolecular crowding was found to significantly enhance the intrinsic catalytic efficiency of the enterobactin-specific isochorismate synthase by inducing structural change in the enzyme. This finding provides the first experimental evidence that macromolecular crowding directly affects protein structure and function in the absence of crowding-susceptible macromolecular association.