Substrate presentation

Substrate presentation; A substrate (purple rectangle) is shown sequestered into a lipid domain (green lipids). The substrate's translocation to the disordered region (grey lipids) presents it to its enzyme (blue oval) where it is hydrolyzed.

In molecular biology, substrate presentation is a biological process that activates a protein. The protein is sequestered away from its substrate and then activated by release and exposure to its substrate. A substrate is typically the substance on which an enzyme acts but can also be a protein surface to which a ligand binds. In the case of an interaction with an enzyme, the protein or organic substrate typically changes chemical form. Substrate presentation differs from allosteric regulation in that the enzyme need not change its conformation to begin catalysis. Substrate presentation is best described for domain partitioning at nanoscopic distances (<100 nm).