Biochemistry Amino Acid Assignment

Question

An assignment is asking what the results would be in the protein 5B1a (PBD iD) when Histidine 291 would be changed to Alanine. I struggle with figuring out the implications of size like polar and hydrophobic and all; and what effect the change would have on the surrounding chains.

Answer 1

Hi Noah,

Histidine is a polar, positively charged, and hydrophilic amino acid, while alanine is a hydrophobic amino acid. Please search for the side chains of histidine and alanine. There is a significant mutation in a protein when an amino acid is substituted by a polar aa with a nonpolar aa.

Connie