Proteins and mutations Flashcards
what are proteins made up of?
long chains of amino acids joined together
what are collagens?
proteins that are found in the walls of arteries. It makes the wall stronger
what is insulin?
the hormone used to control blood glucose levels
what is haemoglobin?
this is used to carry oxygen around the body
where is insulin made?
in the cells in the pancreas
what is mutation?
when a genes code changes
what affect does mutation have on cells/proteins?
it can cause the shape of the protein to change so it no longer does its job in the cell
where is collagen found?
in bones, tendons and cartilage
what do enzymes do?
control many activities in the body like digestion
what can gene mutations be caused by?
radiation or chemicals such as tar in cigarettes
what does haemophilia do?
the blood of someone with haemophilia is unable to clot which means they are unable to stop bleeding
why does haemophilia occur?
because one of the proteins that need to clot their blood cannot be made by the mutated gene
name a mutation that can be good?
one that causes sickle cell amaemia can mean that they are less likely to die of malaria
what is the primary structure of a protein?
its own number and sequence of amino acid
how is the primary structure of a protein determined?
by the sequence of bases in the gene that codes for the protein
describe the shape of haemoglobin
globular
describe the shape of collagen
a long fibrous shape
can genes be switched on or off?
no apart from cells in your pancreas which switch on the insulin gene
what is curd?
the solid part of when milk turns sour
what happens in an active site?
the substrate molecules fit into the site when a reaction takes place
what is a biological catalyst?
a protein that speeds up a biological reaction
what happens in an enzyme-catalysed reaction?
substrate molecules are changed into product molecules
what are enzyme controlled reaction affected by?
pH and temperature
what do enzymes catalyse?
chemical reactions occurring in respiration, photosynthesis and protein synthesis of living cells
what is the lock and key mechanism?
when the substrate molecule fits into the active site of an enzyme
how does temperature affect enzymes?
at low temperatures molecules are moving more slowly and so the enzyme and substrate are less likely to collide
how does pH affect enzymes?
at very high or low pH values and at high temperatures the enzyme active site changes shape. This is called denaturing. The substrate cannot fir, so cannot react so quickly
