Enzymes are biological catalysts that accelerate chemical reactions in living organisms. They lower the activation energy required for reactions, enabling metabolic processes to occur at a faster rate. In the context of enzyme kinetics, the Michaelis-Menten equation is commonly used to describe the rate of enzymatic reactions. This equation incorporates key parameters such as the maximum reaction velocity (Vmax) and the Michaelis constant (Km). Consider an enzyme that exhibits hyperbolic kinetics as described by the Michaelis-Menten model.
Which of the following statements is true regarding the effect of increasing substrate concentration on the reaction rate of an enzyme that follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics?