GATE 2016 Question Paper with Answer Keys for Biochemistry (XL-I)
XL-I : BIOCHEMISTRY
Q. 1 – Q. 10 carry one mark each.
Q.1 Heterologous expression of green fluorescent protein is possible because the genetic code is
(A) universal
(B) triplet
(C) degenerate
(D) non-overlapping
Ans: (A) universal
Q.2 Phosphoglucose isomerase was incubated with 0.2 M of glucose 6-phosphate. On reaching equilibrium, 55% of glucose 6-phosphate was converted to fructose 6-phosphate. The equilibrium constant for this reaction is _.
Ans: 1.20 : 1.24
Q.3 Hydrolysis of a peptide involves cleavage of the bond between the atoms
(A) N and Cα
(B) C and O
(C) Cα and C
(D) N and C
Ans: (D) N and C
Q.4 Inter-conversion of UDP-glucose and UDP-galactose is catalyzed by
(A) an oxidase
(B) a kinase
(C) an epimerase
(D) a mutase
Ans: (C) an epimerase
Q.5 Gel filtration profile and corresponding activity data for a pure enzyme are shown in the figure below. The same enzyme sample on SDS-PAGE runs as a 30 kDa polypeptide.
Which one of the following is the correct interpretation of the data?
(A) Both monomer and dimer are active
(B) Enzyme is active only as a monomer
(C) Protein does not form dimers
(D) Enzyme is active only as a dimer
Ans: (B) Enzyme is active only as a monomer
Q.6 Amino acid residues predominantly involved in protein-DNA interactions are
(A) alanines
(B) negatively charged
(C) prolines
(D) positively charged
Ans: (D) positively charged
Q.7 Cellulose serves as a structural polymer whereas starch does not. This is because cellulose contains
(A) β1→4 linked glucose monomers and inter-chain hydrogen bonds
(B) β1→4 linked glucose monomers and intra-chain hydrogen bonds
(C) α1→4 linked glucose monomers and inter-chain hydrogen bonds
(D) α1→4 linked glucose monomers and intra-chain hydrogen bonds
Ans: (A) β1→4 linked glucose monomers and inter-chain hydrogen bonds
Q.8 Molar absorption spectra labeled (i), (ii) and (iii) for three different amino acids are shown below.
Which one of the following is the correct combination of spectral assignments?
(A) (i) – tryptophan, (ii) – tyrosine, (iii) – phenylalanine
(B) (i) – phenylalanine, (ii) – tryptophan, (iii) – tyrosine
(C) (i) – proline, (ii) – tyrosine, (iii) – tryptophan
(D) (i) – tryptophan, (ii) – proline, (iii) – phenylalanine
Ans: (A) (i) – tryptophan, (ii) – tyrosine, (iii) – phenylalanine
Q.9 The fluidity of a phospholipid membrane increases when the fatty acid
(A) chain length increases and degree of unsaturation decreases
(B) chain length decreases and degree of unsaturation increases
(C) chain length decreases and degree of unsaturation decreases
(D) chain length increases and degree of unsaturation increases
Ans: (B) chain length decreases and degree of unsaturation increases
Q.10 Polypeptides are biosynthesized on the ribosomes inside the cell. Chemical synthesis of polypeptides is also possible through Merrifield’s solid-phase peptide synthesis. In both the cases the polypeptide chain is extended one amino acid at a time. The direction of polypeptide synthesis is from
(A) C-terminus to N-terminus in both the cases
(B) N-terminus to C-terminus in both the cases
(C) C-terminus to N-terminus on the ribosomes and N-terminus to C-terminus in solid-phase synthesis
(D) N-terminus to C-terminus on the ribosomes and C-terminus to N-terminus in solid-phase synthesis
Ans: (D) N-terminus to C-terminus on the ribosomes and C-terminus to N-terminus in solid-phase synthesis
Q. 11 – Q. 20 carry two marks each.
Q.11 Four groups of metabolites are given below. Choose the group in which all the compounds contain at least one bond whose ΔG´o of hydrolysis is ≤ −7.0 kcal/mole.
(A) Glucose 1-phosphate, Adenosine triphosphate, Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate
(B) Creatine phosphate, Acetyl phosphate, Succinyl CoA
(C) Glycerol 3-phosphate, Acetyl CoA, 1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate
(D) Glucose 6-phosphate, Phosphoenolpyruvate, Adenosine diphosphate
Ans: (B) Creatine phosphate, Acetyl phosphate, Succinyl CoA
Q.12 The ΔG´o for the malate dehydrogenase catalyzed step of Krebs cycle is +7.1 kcal/mole. Nevertheless, the conversion of malate to oxaloacetate in vivo proceeds spontaneously because the subsequent reaction that consumes oxaloacetate has a ΔG´o of
(A) −3.0 kcal/mole
(B) +3.0 kcal/mole
(C) −7.7 kcal/mole
(D) +7.7 kcal/mole
Ans: (C) −7.7 kcal/mole
Q.13 When freshly isolated intact mitochondria were incubated with ADP and inorganic phosphate neither the oxygen consumption nor the ATP synthesis could be detected. Addition of succinate resulted in increased oxygen consumption as well as ATP synthesis with time. Subsequent addition of cyanide to this system will result in which one of the following?
(A) Both oxygen consumption and ATP synthesis are inhibited
(B) Oxygen consumption continues but ATP synthesis is inhibited
(C) Oxygen consumption is inhibited but ATP synthesis continues
(D) Both oxygen consumption and ATP synthesis continue
Ans: (A) Both oxygen consumption and ATP synthesis are inhibited
Q.14 Three micrograms of a circular plasmid of 4200 bp was digested with a restriction enzyme and subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis. Five DNA fragments of different sizes were observed and their sizes summed up to 4200 bp. The number of picomoles of DNA ends generated after complete digestion with the enzyme is _.
(Given: average molecular weight of each base pair is 660 Da)
Ans:10 : 11
Q.15 An enzyme was purified using ion-exchange chromatography and the results are shown in the table below.
| Step | Volume (ml) | Total protein (mg) | Total activity (U) |
| Cell extract | 8000 | 400 | 800 |
| DEAE Sephacel | 10 | 2 | 200 |
Which one of the following is the correct interpretation of these data?
(A) 50 fold purification was achieved with 25% yield of the enzyme
(B) 25 fold purification was achieved with 50% yield of the enzyme
(C) 50 fold purification was achieved with 4% yield of the enzyme
(D) 200 fold purification was achieved with 25% yield of the enzyme
Ans: (A) 50 fold purification was achieved with 25% yield of the enzyme
Q.16 Aspartate residues are found in the active sites of many enzymes. The pKa for the β-carboxylate of aspartate is 3.86. At physiological pH this group can function as
(A) a nucleophile and a conjugate acid
(B) an electrophile and a conjugate acid
(C) a nucleophile and a conjugate base
(D) an electrophile and a conjugate base
Ans: (C) a nucleophile and a conjugate base
Q.17 Kinetic parameters for the enzyme fumarase with three different substrates are given below.
| Substrate | KM (μM) | kcat (sec-1) |
| Fluorofumarate | 27 | 2700 |
| Fumarate | 5 | 800 |
| Chlorofumarate | 111 | 20 |
The specificity of fumarase for the substrates decreases in the order
(A) Fluorofumarate > Fumarate > Chlorofumarate
(B) Chlorofumarate > Fluorofumarate > Fumarate
(C) Fumarate > Fluorofumarate > Chlorofumarate
(D) Fumarate > Chlorofumarate > Fluorofumarate
Ans: (C) Fumarate > Fluorofumarate > Chlorofumarate
Q.18 A polypeptide with the amino acid sequence ‘AGKPDHEKAHL’ was dissolved in a buffer of pH 1.8. The predominant form of the polypeptide will have a net charge of
(A) +4
(B) +5
(C) +7
(D) +11
Ans:(B) +5
Q.19 An N-terminal His-tagged protein of molecular weight 40 kDa was purified using Ni-NTA column. This protein sample was subjected to SDS-PAGE. A western blot of the same using anti-His antibodies is shown below.
Which one of the following interpretations is correct?
(A) Only the His-tag of the protein got removed
(B) The protein forms oligomers
(C) The purified protein sample is homogeneous
(D) The protein has a stable N-terminal 20 kDa domain
Ans: (D) The protein has a stable N-terminal 20 kDa domain
Q.20 The sequence of a polypeptide that forms a transmembrane helix is shown below.
Which one of the following segments of the peptide is most likely to span the membrane?
(A) E3-G22
(B) V5-A25
(C) E15-A34
(D) F21-R40
Ans:(C) E15-A34