A researcher studying a line of mouse skin cells has identified an oligosaccharide group attached to the cells' surfaces.What experiment should the researcher perform to test whether this oligosaccharide is important in cell-cell recognition?
A) Isolate membrane proteins from the mouse skin cells, and determine what percentage of these contain the oligosaccharide being investigated.
B) Introduce genetic mutations that prevent synthesis of all membrane proteins, and observe whether this results in loss of the mouse skin cells' ability to recognize other cells.
C) Attach a fluorescent probe to a protein known to bind to the oligosaccharide, then incubate the protein with mouse skin cells and observe the cells using fluorescence microscopy.
D) Run a broad survey of many other types of cells to see which cells express this oligosaccharide and are able to bind to the mouse skin cells being investigated.
E) Treat the mouse skin cells with enzymes that hydrolyze bonds between sugar molecules, and observe whether treated cells no longer recognize other cells.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Enzymatic hydrolysis of the oligosaccharide would allow for testing whether it is involved in cell recognition because this treatment would remove the oligosaccharide from the cell surface. If it is important in cell-cell recognition, the treated cells would no longer recognize other cells. Other choices may also provide useful information, but only E directly tests the hypothesis that the oligosaccharide is important in cell recognition.

A Researcher Studying a Line of Mouse Skin Cells Has