General Information on Urease Urease is an enzyme found abundantly within organisms such as plants, fungi, bacteria, invertebrates and is also present in soil. Its function is to convert the organic compound urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide. In animals, urea is excreted as a waste compound through the metabolism of nitrogen-containing substances; urease is therefore not required in animals. For organisms such as plants, fungi, bacteria, etc., urea serves as a source of nitrogen, which is essential for normal growth. Urease is abundantly present within these organisms to assist in this conversion. Structure, function and applications of urease in various fields Structure: Urease is a trimer consisting of 3 subunits, α, β and γ. Each of these units (αβγ) is further composed of four structural domains, two for the α subunit and one for each of the β and γ subunits; each unit is arranged in a T shape and has dimensions of 75 x 80 x 80 Å. These subunits are further arranged in a triangle consisting of three of these αβγ trimers referred to as αβγ, α'β'γ' and α”β”γ”, and this final molecule has the dimensions of 120 Å. These subunits form substantial hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with each other that stabilize the molecule. Each portion of the triangular molecule is composed of specific components of the trimer; the sides are made up of α, α' and α” subunits containing 570 residues of each, the vertices are made up of β, β' and β” subunits containing 121 residues of each. The γ, γ' and γ" residues are smaller and are packed together on one side of the triangle, containing 100 residues each. The active site of the enzyme is present in the α, α' and α" subunits contained within the triangle. αβ barrels, which… in the middle of the paper… nium emitted by processes other than urease activity. Discussion: This particular enzyme assay in question employs the optimal techniques/materials to achieve maximum accuracy in the assay process. Since urease is a soil enzyme and is actively involved in the breakdown of urea, the release of its products, ammonia and carbon dioxide, are direct indicators of its concentration and activity in the soil. In this experiment the release of ammonia is used as an indicator. Other components used play a vital role in controlling the conditions of the experiment, such as THAM buffer, and the limitation of microbial activity, through toluene. The control experiment is fundamental as it eliminates the addition of ammonia content released from other sources within the soil in the final reading, providing accurate data.