Keratin of skin and nail differ because of
Ans. is 'a' i.e Disulphide bond " the keratins are a family of closely related fibrous proteins, whose structure is nearly entirely alpha- helical. They are a major component of tissues such as hairs and skin; their rigidity is determined by the number of disulphide bonds between the constituent polypeptide chains " -Lippincott's BiochemThus the difference in rigidity between the keratins of hairs and nail in because of the number of disulphide bonds.Keratins are rich in cysteine*( a sulphur containing amino acid ) which provides covalent disulphide cross-link between adjacent polypeptide chains.
Disulphide bond
Covalent bond
Vander Waal bond
Hydrogen bond
Miscellaneous (Structure & Function of Proteins)