Alkaline phosphatase    In bacteria, alkaline phosphatase is
located in the periplasmic space, external to the cell membrane.
Since this space is much more subject to environmental variation
than the actual interior of the cell, bacterial alkaline
phosphatase is comparatively resistant to inactivation,
denaturation, and degradation, and also has a higher rate of
activity. Although the actual purpose of the enzyme is still not
fully understood, the simple hypothesis, that it is a means for
the bacteria to generate free phosphate groups for uptake and
use, is supported by the fact that alkaline phosphatase is
usually only produced by the bacteria during phosphate
starvation and not when phosphate is plentiful. However, other
possibilities exist; for instance, the presence of phosphate
groups usually prevents organic molecules from passing through
the membrane, therefore dephosphorylating them may be important
for bacterial uptake of organic compounds in the wild. Some
complexities of bacterial regulation and me