Fundamentals of Biochemistry: Life at the Molecular Level 5th Edition

Published by Wiley
ISBN 10: 1118918401
ISBN 13: 978-1-11891-840-1

Chapter 5 - Proteins: Primary Structure - Exercises - Page 127: 17

Answer

Val can rarely substitute for Gly. Explanation: A Gly amino acid side chain is just a H atom but valine has a large side chain with many C and H atoms. Since Gly has a small side chain it has the most flexibility out of all the amino acids, this means that the peptide backbone can adopt unique bond angles that it cannot achieve with any other amino acid. This is why the gly amino acid cannot be successfully replaced by a Val. Gly is often successfully substituted for Val. Explanation: The gly can replace the val since the gly will most likely not fully disrupt the interactions around where the val side chain was or change the peptide chain characteristics so dramatically.

Work Step by Step

Val can rarely substitute for Gly. Explanation: A Gly amino acid side chain is just a H atom but valine has a large side chain with many C and H atoms. Since Gly has a small side chain it has the most flexibility out of all the amino acids, this means that the peptide backbone can adopt unique bond angles that it cannot achieve with any other amino acid. This is why the gly amino acid cannot be successfully replaced by a Val. Gly is often successfully substituted for Val. Explanation: The gly can replace the val since the gly will most likely not fully disrupt the interactions around where the val side chain was or change the peptide chain characteristics so dramatically.
Update this answer!

You can help us out by revising, improving and updating this answer.

Update this answer

After you claim an answer you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. An editor will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback.