Question

Which of the statements about denaturation has given below are correct?
(a) Denaturation of proteins causes loss of secondary and tertiary structures of the protein.
(b) Denaturation leads to the conversion of the double strand of DNA into the single strand.
(c) Denaturation affects primary structure which gets distorted.

• A. (b) and (c)
• B. (a) and (c)
• C. (a) and (b)
• D. (a), (b) and (c)

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

(a) and (b)

The destruction of the biological structure and activity by heat or chemical agent is called denaturation.

It involves the disruption of both the secondary and tertiary structures of a protein. As denaturation reactions are not strong enough to break the peptide bonds, the primary structure (sequence of amino acids) remains intact after it. It disrupts the normal alpha-helix and beta sheets in a protein and uncoils it into a random shape.

The double-stranded DNA is heated up to 98${}^o$ C which causes the hydrogen bonds to break and the two strands get separated. This is the denaturation of DNA.

Thus the correct answer is option $C$.