For each of the following proteins, note whether the main secondary structure feature is α helix, β-pleated sheet, or both.
c. hemoglobin

Question

For each of the following proteins, note whether the main secondary structure feature is α helix, β-pleated sheet, or both.

c. hemoglobin

Accepted Answer

All right. Hello everyone. So this question says to determine from the following statements which one correctly describes the main secondary structural feature of hemoglobin. The secondary structure of hemoglobin primarily consists of option A alpha helices stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds. B beta pleated sheets stabilized by intermolecular disulfide bonds. C alpha helices and beta pleated sheets stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds or D neither alpha helices nor beta pleated sheets, but a more complex secondary structure that is stabilized via dipole interactions. So, before we talk about specific information revolving around hemoglobin and its structure, I just want to briefly point out how you can eliminate some answer choices before even recalling that information. So first, because we're talking about secondary structure specifically, recall that secondary structure is stabilized by hydrogen bonds specifically. And so we can eliminate options B and D based off the fact that they mention disulfide bonds and dipole interactions respectively, these wouldn't be correct because we're talking about secondary structure. And therefore, the options should mention hydrogen bonds. So now what are the primary elements of secondary structure? Well, the first is a, an alpha helix and an alpha helix is a compact spiral structure characterized by hydrogen bonds within a given polypeptide chain. Now, on the other hand, we have what's called a beta pleated sheet in which these polypeptide chains are arranged in more or less a zigzag pattern to give that pleated appearance. So in the case of the beta pleaded sheet hydrogen bonds are happening between either different polypeptide chains or different segments of the same chain. So now what do we know of hemoglobin? Well, hemoglobin is an incredibly important protein, right? It exists in our blood and its primary function is to transport oxygen to our tissues. Now, the good news is that hemoglobin is a very well studied protein with a known secondary structure and it's composed primarily of alpha helices. So now these alpha helices are arranged in a certain way to create the mature structure of hemoglobin and they're stabilized by hydrogen bonds because again, this is secondary structure which is characterized by h bonding. And so our answer here is going to be option a in the multiple choice. The secondary structure of hemoglobin primarily consists of alpha helices stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds. And so with that being said, thank you so very much for watching. And I hope you found this helpful.

For each of the following proteins, note whether the main secondary structure feature is α helix, β-pleated sheet, or both.
c. hemoglobin

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

Key Concepts

Secondary Structure of Proteins

Hemoglobin Structure

Protein Folding and Function

For each of the following proteins, note whether the main secondary structure feature is α helix, β-pleated sheet, or both.c. hemoglobin

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

Key Concepts

Secondary Structure of Proteins

Hemoglobin Structure

Protein Folding and Function

For each of the following proteins, note whether the main secondary structure feature is α helix, β-pleated sheet, or both.
c. hemoglobin