Multiple choice

Which of the following amino acids get replaced by valine amino acid in sickle cell anemia patients?

  1. Histidine

  2. Lysine

  3. Cysteine

  4. Glutamic acid

  5. Aspartic acid

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

A single nucleotide pair alteration is the cause of sickle cell anemia: the template strand of mutated sickle cell DNA has an A rather than a T. U takes the place of A in the mRNA. A valine amino acid is made in the sickle cell haemoglobin instead of a glutamic acid. GAG which codes for the amino acid glutamic acid is changed to GTG for valine as a result of the mutation in the position of second nucleotide of the codon GAG.