Video Transcript
Which process best describes what
is happening in the given figure? (A) Phagocytosis, (B)
neutralization, (C) agglutination, (D) hydrolysis, (E) denaturation.
This figure shows an immune
reaction. Let’s first describe the different
structures that we see in order to correctly identify this process.
The Y-shaped structure is an
antibody. An antibody is a globular protein
that is produced by B cells to bind to a specific antigen. We can see that these antibodies
are binding to different structures on the surface of these pathogens. These structures are antigens,
foreign substances that can bind to antibodies and trigger an immune response. The process that we see in this
figure is a clumping reaction caused by antibodies.
Here, multiple antibodies can bind
to the same antigen on multiple pathogens to cause these pathogens to clump
together. This clump can then be eliminated
by phagocytosis. This clumping process by antibodies
is known as agglutination.
Therefore, the process that best
describes what is happening in this figure is given by answer choice (C),
agglutination.
