Enzyme Dynamics: Consensus and Controversy

A vigorous contemporary debate spotlights the role of protein dynamics in enzyme catalysis [1-7]. By the end of the day, the controversy goes down to statements that obviously do not agree with each other, such as “enzyme dynamics do (or do not) contribute to catalysis”. However, as the researchers studying this issue come from very different fields (kinetics, spectroscopy, theory, computer simulations, etc.) it is important to distinguish between “semantic disagreements” resulting from different terminologies, and matters of scientific merit (i.e., how enzymes work). Below I try to clarify points of agreement that sometimes go unrecognized, and sharpen the disagreements on matters of merit.