Some of earliest studies of protein structure and function were conducted on res

Question

Some of earliest studies of protein structure and function were conducted on respiratory proteins that were purified from whale meat. Whale meat was once consumed widely (and is still sold in Scandanavia, Japan, and eaten by the Aleuts) and is a deep-dark reddish color. The first steps in the purification generally involved putting the whale meat in a blender with a buffer solution and making a whale smoothie. Yum!

a. What are the respiratory proteins would researchers have found in whale meat? Where would those proteins have been located within the meat?

b. What are three reasons that studies of respiratory protein oxygen binding conducted on proteins purified from whale meat might result in data that does not exactly represent the oxygen binding characteristics of those proteins in whale muscle (i.e. when measured in the tissue)?

Explanation / Answer

A. ANSWER) Hemoglobin and Myoglobin are the  respiratory proteins that the researchers would have found in whale meat. Hemoglobin would have been found or located in blood similarly, Myoglobin wound have found or located in the tissues.

B. Answer) - Buffer would change some of the protein makeup.

- Blending could break down hydrogen bonds in the hemoglobin changing the pH.

-Blending of tissue can break up bonds such as in mixing of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

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