Question 8. A.) Protein structure. Describe how the following two interactions are critical in protein structure: (i) hydrogen bonds between backbone atoms in the formation of secondary structure elements, and (ii) hydrophobic side chains in the formation of the hydrophobic core of a protein. In your answer explain the chemical structure of the protein backbone, describe hydrogen bonding in alpha-helices and beta-sheets, and explain the difference between hydrophilic and hydrophobic amino acids.
B.) Protein families . Describe (i) how the process of molecular evolution generates protein families, and (ii) how the amino acid sequence alignments based on sequence similarities for such members of a protein family can be used to identify conserved regions of a protein and construct a phylogenetic tree of such members of a protein family. (iii) Will amino acids at the active site of an enzyme tend to be conserved in a protein family? Why?
C.) Protein evolution. (i) Illustrate the phenomenon of functional sequence variation using antibodies that can bind to a range of different antigens. (ii) Explain the process of domain shuffling in protein evolution and give an example of how this process can generate proteins with novel functions.
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Question 8- A-) Protein structure- Describe how the following two inte.docx
1. Question 8. A.) Protein structure. Describe how the following two interactions are critical in
protein structure: (i) hydrogen bonds between backbone atoms in the formation of secondary
structure elements, and (ii) hydrophobic side chains in the formation of the hydrophobic core of a
protein. In your answer explain the chemical structure of the protein backbone, describe
hydrogen bonding in alpha-helices and beta-sheets, and explain the difference between
hydrophilic and hydrophobic amino acids.
B.) Protein families . Describe (i) how the process of molecular evolution generates protein
families, and (ii) how the amino acid sequence alignments based on sequence similarities for
such members of a protein family can be used to identify conserved regions of a protein and
construct a phylogenetic tree of such members of a protein family. (iii) Will amino acids at the
active site of an enzyme tend to be conserved in a protein family? Why?
C.) Protein evolution. (i) Illustrate the phenomenon of functional sequence variation using
antibodies that can bind to a range of different antigens. (ii) Explain the process of domain
shuffling in protein evolution and give an example of how this process can generate proteins
with novel functions.
