Question

The biosynthetic pathway for the two amino acids E and H is shown schematically. You are able to show that E inhibits enzyme V, and H inhibits enzyme X. Enzyme T is most likely to be subject to feedback inhibition by __________ alone?

1) H
2) B
3) C
4) E
5) G

Answer 1

Enzyme T is most likely to be subject to feedback inhibition by amino acid E(option 4), as feedback inhibition typically affects the initial steps of a biosynthetic pathway to regulate the production of end products.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of this question is to determine which compound would most likely be involved in feedback inhibition of enzyme T in a biosynthetic pathway for amino acids. The concept described is centered on the regulatory mechanism known as feedback inhibition—where the end product or byproduct of a pathway regulates its own synthesis by inhibiting one of the enzymes involved early in the pathway.

In the given pathway, substance E inhibits enzyme V whereas substance H inhibits enzyme X. Enzyme T, being upstream, is not directly affected by these inhibitions. Therefore, enzyme T would most likely be subject to feedback inhibition by a different substance.

If substance E inhibits enzyme V and indirectly controls the production of E through feedback inhibition, and knowing that these mechanisms often act at the beginning of a biosynthetic pathway, it can be inferred that enzyme T is most likely to be inhibited by the amino acid E, as upstream inhibition typically influences the first few steps of a biosynthetic pathway to control the flow through the entire pathway. Hence, option (4) E is the most logical choice.