Enzymes

Article link:
https://slate.com/technology/2013/03/directed-evolution-frances-arnold-engineers-green-chemistry-molecules.html
https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/90/12/5618.full.pdf
* There’s no need to read all of them, please just focus on:
a) The first pg (not including the Materials and Methods)
b) Fig 2 and Fig 3 & their captions (pg 5621)
c) The first paragraph of the section “Effective Mutations Are Located in the Variable Loops Around the Active Site and Most Are Found in Other Natural Subtilisins.” (pg 5621)

Based on what you read above and additional information from books, the Internet, and other sources, please answer the following questions (WITH SLIGHTLY OVER 200 WORDS):
1) Both Fig 2 and Fig 3 are representations of the enzyme subtilisin. Why it is necessary to represent it in two different ways? In other words, what information do you get from Fig 2 and not Fig 3, and vice versa?
2) In Dr. Arnold’s article, it says, “Of the 10 amino acid substitutions in PC3 subtilisin E [the improved enzyme she made], not one is found in the conserved core α-helix or β-sheet; … All the affected loops lie on one face of the enzyme, surrounding the active site.” Use your knowledge to speculate- why do you think the mutations were in those places?
Wrapping Up: What was most interesting or most confusing about the articles? What do these articles tell you about the types of people that do science?

Last Completed Projects