A gap junction channel is built when six connexin proteins arrange into a structure called a:
AThe connexon
BThe desmosome
CA plasmodesma
DA hemidesmosome
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. The connexon
1. Gap junctions link the cytoplasm of two neighbouring animal cells.
2. The channel is assembled from a repeating protein unit.
3. Gap junctions develop when a set of six proteins called connexins arrange themselves in an elongated donut-like configuration.
4. That configuration is called a connexon.
5. Desmosomes and hemidesmosomes are anchoring junctions and carry no such channel.
_Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 4 'Cell Structure', sections 4.1-4.6_
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