ATPase enzyme needed for muscle contraction is located in -
A
Troponin
B
Myosin
C
Actin
D
Actinin
The answer is B.
Solution
The thick filaments of a myofibril are made of myosin. Each myosin molecule has a globular head (heavy meromyosin). The myosin head has ATPase activity and binding sites for both ATP and actin. It hydrolyses ATP to ADP and $P_i$, and uses the energy released to bind to actin, form a cross bridge and pull the thin filaments towards the centre of the sarcomere (sliding filament theory). Actin, troponin and tropomyosin form the thin filaments and have no ATPase activity; actinin anchors actin at the Z line. So the ATPase enzyme needed for muscle contraction is located in myosin.
ConceptATPase activity of myosin head
Mechanism of muscle contraction in past papers
4 questions from this chapter have appeared across 4 exam years.