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Lab-Amino Acid Sequence and Evolution

Hemoglobin and cytochrome c are proteins composed of amino acid chains. Comparing the amino acid sequences of these proteins between humans and other organisms provides evidence of evolutionary relationships. The document analyzes tables and graphs comparing amino acid sequences of hemoglobin and cytochrome c in humans and various other species. Organisms with more similar amino acid sequences to humans are inferred to have a closer evolutionary relationship than those with more differences.

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John Sayat
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36 views

Lab-Amino Acid Sequence and Evolution

Hemoglobin and cytochrome c are proteins composed of amino acid chains. Comparing the amino acid sequences of these proteins between humans and other organisms provides evidence of evolutionary relationships. The document analyzes tables and graphs comparing amino acid sequences of hemoglobin and cytochrome c in humans and various other species. Organisms with more similar amino acid sequences to humans are inferred to have a closer evolutionary relationship than those with more differences.

Uploaded by

John Sayat
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Pasig Catholic College

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL


School Year 2021-2022

Names: ______________________________________________________________
Section: ______________________ Teacher: Mrs. Aurea N. Silvestre

Amino Acid Sequence and Evolution

I. Purpose: How do amino acid sequences provide evidence for evolution?

CA Standard: (8f) Students know how to use comparative embryology, DNA or protein sequence
comparisons, and other independent sources of data to create a branching diagram (cladogram) that
shows probable evolutionary relationships.

Background: Examine Table 1 which compares corresponding portions of hemoglobin molecules in


humans and five other vertebrate animals. Hemoglobin is a protein composed of several long chains
of amino acids and is the oxygen carrying molecule in red blood cells. The sequence shown is only
a portion of a chain made up of 146 amino acids. The numbers in Table 1 indicate the position of a
particular amino acid in the chain.
Another commonly studied protein is cytochrome c. This protein consists of 104 amino acids and
is located in the mitochondria of cells. There it functions as a respiratory enzyme. Figure 2 uses
human cytochrome c as a standard and reveals the amino acid differences between humans and a
number of other organisms.

II. Materials: hemoglobin sequence cytochrome c data

III. Procedure:

Part A: Comparing Amino Acid Sequences


1. Using Table 1, circle the name of each amino acid in the chimpanzee hemoglobin that is different
from that in human hemoglobin. If there are no differences, then do not circle the amino acid.

2. For the remaining organisms circle the names of the amino acids that are different to those in
human hemoglobin. Note: Always be sure that you compare the amino acid sequence of each
organism with that of the human and not the organism on the line above.

Part B: Inferring Evolutionary Relationships from Differences in Amino Acid Sequences


1. Fill in the bar graph that is patterned after Table 3 (the bars will go sideways). This will show the
amino acid differences among several organisms.

2. Make a bar graph that is patterned after Table 4 (the bars will go sideways). The cytochrome c of a
fruit fly is used as a standard in comparing amino acid differences among several organisms
IV. Data/Observations
Table 1
87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101

Human THR LEU SER GLU LEU HIS CYS ASP LYS LEU HIS VAL ASP PRO GLU
Chimpanzee THR LEU SER GLU LEU HIS CYS ASP LYS LEU HIS VAL ASP PRO GLU
Gorilla THR LEU SER GLU LEU HIS CYS ASP LYS LEU HIS VAL ASP PRO GLU
Rhesus monkey GLN LEU SER GLU LEU HIS CYS ASP LYS LEU HIS VAL ASP PRO GLU
Horse ALA LEU SER GLU LEU HIS CYS ASP LYS LEU HIS VAL ASP PRO GLU
Kangaroo LYS LEU SER GLU LEU HIS CYS ASP LYS LEU HIS VAL ASP PRO GLU

102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116

Human ASN PHE ARG LEU LEU GLY ASN VAL LEU VAL CYS VAL LEU ALA HIS
Chimpanzee ASN PHE ARG LEU LEU GLY ASN VAL LEU VAL CYS VAL LEU ALA HIS
Gorilla ASN PHE LYS LEU LEU GLY ASN VAL LEU VAL CYS VAL LEU ALA HIS
Rhesus monkey ASN PHE LYS LEU LEU GLY ASN VAL LEU VAL CYS VAL LEU ALA HIS
Horse ASN PHE ARG LEU LEU GLY ASN VAL LEU ALA LEU VAL VAL ALA ARG

Kangaroo ASN PHE LYS LEU LEU GLY ASN ILE ILE VAL ILE CYS LEU ALA GLU

Human hemoglobin is being used as the standard for comparison.

Data Table 2 (Summarize the information in Table 1)

Organism Number of Amino Positions in Which They Vary


Acid Differences (Write the amino acid # where there is a difference)
Human and
chimpanzee
Human and 104,
gorilla
Human and
rhesus monkey
Human and
horse
Human and
kangaroo

V.
Calculations/Results
Table 3
Species Pairings Number of
Differences
Human – chimpanzee 0
Human – fruit fly 29
Human – horse 12
Human – pigeon 12
Human – rattlesnake 14
Human – red bread mold 48
Human – rhesus monkey 1
Human – screwworm fly 27
Human – snapping turtle 15
Human – tuna 21
Human – wheat 43
Graph 1
Number of Differences

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50

Species Pairings

Human – chimpanzee -------------

Human – fruit fly ------------------

Human – horse

Human – pigeon -------------------

Human – rattlesnake ---------------

Human – red bread mold ----------

Human – rhesus monkey ----------

Human – screwworm fly ----------

Human – snapping turtle ----------

Human – tuna

Human – wheat

Table 4

Species Pairings Number of


Differences
Fruit fly – dogfish shark 26
Fruit fly – pigeon 25
Fruit fly – screwworm fly 2
Fruit fly –silkworm moth 15
Fruit fly –tobacco hornworm moth 14
Fruit fly – wheat 47
Graph 2 Number of Differences

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50

Species Pairings

Fruit fly – dogfish shark -------------

Fruit fly – pigeon ---------------------

Fruit fly – screwworm fly -----------

Fruit fly –silkworm moth ------------

Fruit fly –tobacco hornworm moth

Fruit fly – wheat

VI. Questions (Re-state the questions and answer in a complete sentence.)


1. What is hemoglobin? What is its function? How many amino acids make up 1 chain
of hemoglobin? (Read the Background.)
2. Use Table 2 to answer question 2.
3. On the basis of hemoglobin similarity, what organisms appear to resemble humans most closely and
which seem to be least closely related to humans? Explain your answer.
4. What organelle is cytochrome c found in? How many amino acids make 1 protein of cytochrome
c? What is the function of the cytochrome c protein? (Read the Background.)
Use Table 3 answer questions 4 & 5.
5. On the basis of differences in their cytochrome c, which organisms appear to be most closely
related to humans? Which organisms are the least closely related to humans?
6. Name the pair of organisms that appear to be equally related to humans on the basis of cytochrome
c similarity.
7. If the amino acid sequences in the proteins of two organisms are similar, then why will their
DNA also be similar?

VII. Conclusion:
How do amino acid sequences provide evidence for evolution

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