Monosaccharide
Monotremes use the monosaccharide fucose as their milk sugar; eutherian mammals (like us) use the disaccharide lactose as theirs
a. (5 pts) On the structures of these two sugars below, please label: i. the glycosidic bond ii. the modified “group” on fucose
No 11 H /11713— OH OH OH
Fucose
b. What monomers make up the lactose disaccharide? Include the identity of the two monomers and the proper bond designation between them.
c. Hypothesize the role of the modification seen on Fucose. Focus on chemistry not complex biological function.
d. (The inability of some individuals to digest lactose is called “lactose intolerance” and leads to digestive distress as the result of undigested sugar accumulating in the gut. This condition stems from the reduced expression of an enzyme that breaks a particular kind of bond. Which bond in lactose do you think is the problem (and why) 3-5 sentences?