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3.4 Detection of enzymatic activities

The detection methods based on measuring enzymatic activities are limited to the detection of transgenes that represent enzymes. Enzymatic function of a protein depends on the structural preservation of the protein molecule even more than the recognition of the protein by antibodies. Therefore, an important restriction of enzymatic methods is the requirement that the sample must be fresh enough to contain enzymatic activity. With this in mind, it seems highly unlikely that detection of certain enzymatic activities, e.g. by measuring the enzymatic EPSPS activity (Padgette et al., 1987; 1988), will find broad application in the detection of genetically engineered food.