Enzymes that function within plants, animals, and microorganisms are fundamental to life, and their contributions to metabolic pathways and processes have been studied extensively. For over 100 years there has been interest in what today is called ecological or environmental enzymology. This aspect of enzymology originates from the work of Woods, who, in 1899, wrote about the survival and function in soil of plant peroxidases following their release from decaying plant roots. Environmental enzymologists recognize that the measured activity may be a composite of reactions taking place in different locations and at different rates. Thus, in addition to being intracellular, enzymes can be extracellular and attached to the.
