Which reaction breaks peptide bonds?

• A. Oxidation
• B. Condensation reactions
• C. Hydrolysis
• D. Reduction

Answer: (C)

Peptide bonds are the amide links that connect amino acids in proteins. To break one, you add water in a hydrolysis reaction, which cleaves the bond and splits the polypeptide into smaller pieces or individual amino acids. In biology, enzymes called proteases catalyze this hydrolysis, using water to break the bond. Oxidation or reduction changes other parts of molecules but doesn’t specifically cleave the peptide backbone, and condensation (dehydration synthesis) forms peptide bonds rather than breaks them. So hydrolysis is the process that breaks peptide bonds.