Rotting fish

Question 1

What is TMAO?

Answer 1

Trimethylamine N-oxide
Zwitterion
Hydrophilic

Question 2

What is osmolarity and its units?

Answer 2

A measure of the solute concentration per litre of water or another solvent
Osmols

Question 3

What is turgor and its units?

Answer 3

The pressure exerted against a cell wall from inside a cell

Pascals

Question 4

How do microbes combat osmotic stress?

Answer 4

Pack cytoplasm with compatible solutes

Question 5

Name some compatible solutes

Answer 5

Amino acids
Amino acid derivatives 
Small peptides 
Sulfate esters
Polyols
Sugars 
Methylamine

Question 6

What is the reaction that TMAO reductase catalyses?

Answer 6

TAMO + 2H+ + 2e- —-> TMA + H2O

Question 7

What is TMA?

Answer 7

Trimethylamine

A volatile compound that smells of rotting fish

Question 8

What does TMAO reductase use?

Answer 8

Molybdenum cofactor and folds around it in the cytoplasm before being exported to the periplasm

Question 9

What diseases can TMAO or TMA exacerbate?

Answer 9

Renal disease
Cardiovascular disease
Diabetes

Question 10

Describe trimethylaminuria

Answer 10

Autosomal recessive mutation in chromosome 1 which means that FMO3 can’t convert TMA to TMAO in the liver