Expert: Dana Krempels, Ph.D. - 1/29/2010

Question
say that u have produced  several versions of lactace, each which differs from normal lactase by a single amino acid. how would i describe a test that could indirectly determine which off the versions significantly alters the three-dimentional shape of the protein
this is not a homeowork question i am just trying to study for a test and i am going thru a chapters review to try and understand the chapter better so if u could help that would be great thank you so much if u could explain it a little bit

Answer
Dear Bree,

I can't answer your homework problem for you, but I can give you a hint:  consider the active site of the lactase, and consider what the substrate is that fits into the active site.

Now how would you see whether the active site has changed in affinity for the substrate with any of the three mutations, considering that the enzyme facilitates the breakdown of the substrate?

Good luck,

Dana