The chemical basis of blood group specificity resides in the carbohydrates displayed on the surface of red blood cells. Carbohydrates have the potential for great structural diversity. Indeed, the structural complexity of the oligosaccharides that can be formed from four sugars is greater than that for the oligopeptides from four amino acids. What properties of carbohydrates make this great structural diversity possible?

Question

Biology

Keshawn Dougherty

31 May, 20:09

The chemical basis of blood group specificity resides in the carbohydrates displayed on the surface of red blood cells. Carbohydrates have the potential for great structural diversity. Indeed, the structural complexity of the oligosaccharides that can be formed from four sugars is greater than that for the oligopeptides from four amino acids. What properties of carbohydrates make this great structural diversity possible?

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Answers (1)

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Selina Watkins · Answer 1

The correct answer is "multiple and diverse structures".

Explanation:

Carbohydrates are particularly diverse molecules because they can form multiple and diverse structures. These structures are formed from different combination of monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose, galactose, mannose, ribose, arabinose, among others. In addition, each monosaccharide could be inD - (dextro) or L - (levo) form, which makes their bonding even more diverse. The diversity of carbohydrates is seen in nature, for instance, more than 500 oligosaccharides comprised of between three to ten units are known