Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
end-product inhibition
References
Images
A metabolic pathway diagram shows the aspartate family in E. coli, with black arrows indicating steps from oxaloacetate to aspartate and onward to lysine, methionine, threonine, and isoleucine. Red X marks and dashed yellow lines highlight enzyme regulation points. Diagram showing metabolic pathways for amino acid biosynthesis, divided into families: glutamate, aspartate, serine, pyruvate, shikimate, and histidine. Amino acids, underlined to indicate protein components, branch from intermediate compounds, with arrows showing synthesis relationships. Some intermediates and side products are labeled, and related amino acids are grouped by precursor molecules.
Britannica AI Icon

end-product inhibition

biochemistry
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

A metabolic pathway diagram shows the aspartate family in E. coli, with black arrows indicating steps from oxaloacetate to aspartate and onward to lysine, methionine, threonine, and isoleucine. Red X marks and dashed yellow lines highlight enzyme regulation points.
Aspartate amino acids in E. coli “Fine control” of the enzymes of the aspartate family in E. coli.

Feedback inhibition, also known as end-product inhibition, is a biochemical process where the product of a metabolic pathway inhibits an enzyme that controls an early stage of that pathway. This mechanism prevents the overproduction of substances within a cell.12

When the concentration of a specific product reaches an optimal level, it binds to a regulatory site on a key enzyme, altering the enzyme's shape and slowing down or stopping the reaction. Once the product is used or broken down, its concentration decreases, the inhibition is released, and the pathway resumes production. This process is crucial for maintaining the precise balance of various molecules within a cell.13

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
3 Britannica Sources
  1. feedback inhibition
  2. metabolism - End-product inhibition
  3. feedback inhibition

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.