Question

Which of the following statements is untrue about protein secondary structure?

A) The alpha helix, beta pleated sheet and beta turns are examples of protein secondary structure.
B) The ability of peptide bonds to form intramolecular hydrogen bonds is important to secondary structure.
C) The steric influence of amino acid residues is important to secondary structure.
D) The hydrophilic/hydrophobic character of amino acid residues is important to secondary structure.

Answer 1

Statement D is untrue about protein secondary structure because secondary structures are held together by hydrogen bonding between backbone atoms rather than the side chain's hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that is untrue about protein secondary structure is D) The hydrophilic/hydrophobic character of amino acid residues is important to secondary structure.

Protein secondary structures, such as the alpha helix and beta pleated sheet, are stabilized by hydrogen bonds between the backbone atoms, not the side chain's hydrophilic or hydrophobic character. This hydrophilic/hydrophobic character plays a more crucial role in the tertiary structure, where the overall three-dimensional folding is influenced by the interactions among the amino acid side chains.