Which is an example of a biological catalyst that is not a protein?

BIOLOGY
SAT 2021

Which is an example of a biological catalyst that is not a protein?

  • A. Spliceosomes
  • B. Lyases
  • C. Transferases
  • D. Ribozymes

Correct Answer: D. Ribozymes

Explanation

This question ultimately hinges on knowing the difference between ribozymes and spliceosomes because transferase, hydrolase, and lyase should all be recognized as proteins that function as enzymes. Transferase catalyzes reactions that facilitate the transfer of functional groups. Hydrolase works to catalyze hydrolysis reactions. Lyase works to catalyze reactions that break down double bonds. Spliceosomes are a unit of proteins and RNA that work to catalyze reactions that splice out introns in RNA to form mature mRNA ready for translation. Ribozymes are important because they also splice RNA into mRNA, but they do not have a protein component to them. The discovery of Ribozymes was a breakthrough in that it was the first evidence that not all enzymes are proteins.



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