MCAT Question A Day - 4/30/14 - Answer!
Like cellulose, chitin is a polysaccharide that cannot be digested by animals. Chitin differs from cellulose by possessing an acetyl-amino group at the second carbon. What molecule is a reactant in the breaking of the beta-1,4-glycoside linkages of cellulose and chitin?
A. water
B. oxygen
C. alpha-l,4-glucosidase
D. beta-1,4-glucosidase
A is correct. Both alpha and beta linkages in polysaccharides are hydrolyzed by adding water. The question asks for a reactant; choices C and 0 are enzyme catalysts which are never reactants.
Want more questions? - Click here to check out our MCAT Question A Day archive
A is correct. Both alpha and beta linkages in polysaccharides are hydrolyzed by adding water. The question asks for a reactant; choices C and 0 are enzyme catalysts which are never reactants.
Want more questions? - Click here to check out our MCAT Question A Day archive
