Question

42. Which of the following statements about the carbohydrate coating of the cell surface is FALSE?

(a) It is not usually found on the cytosolic side of the membrane.
(b) It can play a role in cell-cell adhesion.
(c) The arrangement of the oligosaccharide side chains are highly ordered, much like the peptide bonds of a polypeptide chain.
(d) Specific oligosaccharides can be involved in cell-cell recognition.
(e) It can protect the cell surface from mechanical and chemical damage.

Answer 1

The false statement about the carbohydrate coating of the cell surface is that the arrangement of the oligosaccharide side chains is highly ordered, much like the peptide bonds of a polypeptide chain. Therefore, statement (c) is false.

Step-by-step explanation:

The false statement about the carbohydrate coating of the cell surface is (c) The arrangement of the oligosaccharide side chains are highly ordered, much like the peptide bonds of a polypeptide chain.

The arrangement of the oligosaccharide side chains is actually not highly ordered. Unlike the linear, precise arrangement of peptide bonds in a polypeptide chain, the arrangement of the sugar chains in carbohydrates is much more flexible and can adopt various conformations with different levels of branching.