The Kinetics of Multiple Enzyme

In the course of studies on the adaptive fermentation of galaetose by yeast, the effects of a number of enzyme inhibitors on the adaptive process and the subsequent fermentation were investigated. The results of these experiments as they bear on the problem of adaptation have been discussed in a preliminary communication (1). However, one interesting point emerged in concentration curves fgr two of the inhibitors. Both sodium azide and sodium fluorideexhibited a stimulatory effect at sufficiently low concentrations. This seemed particularly significant in view of the fact that Borei (2) had already reported such an effect for precisely the same compounds acting on the endogenous respiration of bakers ' yeast. I t therefore became of interest to see whether a general theoretical analysis of such an effect is possible. I t proved feasible to develop at least a simple form of such an analysis for fluoride in terms of its known properties. An equally concrete model for azide has not been completed, but is now being studied.