Video Transcript
The diagram shows a simplified version of protease action. What monomer subunits are proteins broken down into?
Proteins are large molecules that perform numerous essential functions in living
organisms. Proteases are enzymes that break down proteins into their smaller subunits. The question is asking us to work out what the subunits, or monomers, of proteins are
called. To identify this, let’s take a look at some different biological macromolecules and
the subunits that they are made up of.
Glucose is a sugar, which is the monomer subunit of many larger carbohydrates, such
as a biological macromolecule called starch. Fatty acids and glycerol are the subunits of lipids, which have many functions, for
example, making up the cell membranes of cells. Proteins are another example of a biological macromolecule and the one that is of
interest to us in this question. Proteins are polymers made of chains of amino acids that are bound together by
peptide bonds.
Therefore, the monomer subunits that proteins are broken down into are amino
acids.
