Question

Aquaporins are proteins that control the passage of water molecules across a cell membrane. The protein forms a pore, or opening, in the membrane. You isolate what you think are two different molecules of aquaporin and determine that one of the proteins has a larger pore diameter than the second. Which of the following do you conclude?

Answer 1

The two different molecules of aquaporin will have different sequences of amino acids

Explanation:

Aquaporins are an integral type of membrane proteins. They act as water channels and their function is to transport water and other solute materials across cells membranes and thereby control and regulate the water content of the cells.

They are formed by clustering of four water channel monomers forming a tetramer.

Each aquaporin is made up of a specific linear sequence of amino acids and variations in the sequence leads to formation of different aquaporins.

There are more than 10 types of aquaporins are known. The sizes of the aquaporins differ according to their pore diameter of each type and this difference leads to the selective permeability of water across cell membranes.