Bio93 - Lecture 4 - Wood/Mattheos/Green

Bio93 - Macromolecules II: Proteins and Nucleic Acids

Protein

Large, complex organic molecules made of long chains of amino acid building blocks linked by peptide bonds

Amino Acid

An organic molecule containing a central alpha-carbon bonded to an amino group (-NH2), a carboxyl group )-COOH), a hydrogen atom, and a variable R-group

Polypeptide

A continuous, unbranched polymer chain of amino acids connected together by covalent peptide bonds

R-group

A shorthand symbol that represents any generic, variable group of atoms - usually a carbon and hydrogen chain- attached to the main part of a molecule

Nonpolar

The electrical charges of a molecule or bond are evenly distributed, leaving no positive or negative poles

Polar

A molecule has an unequal sharing of electrons, creating a positive side and a negative side

Hydrophobic

A molecule or substance does not mix well with or repels water

Hydrophilic

Water-loving

Chaperone protein

Specialized cellular molecules that assist in the correct folding, unfolding, and assembly of other proteins without becoming part of the final structure

Ubiquitin Proteosome degradation

A regulated cellular pathway that marks unneeded, damaged, or misfolded proteins with a small protein tag called ubiquitin and destroys them using a barrel-shaped protein complex called proteasome

Nucleic Acids

Large, natural molecules that store and pass on genetic information in every living cell

Deoxyribonucleic acid

DNA - Stores the genetic instructions for life

Ribonucleic acid

RNA - Single stranded nucleic acid present in all living cells that carries out the instructions coded in DNA to build and maintain cells

Sugar-phophate backbone

The structural framework of DNA and RNA that consists of alternating sugar and phosphate groups linked together in a long chain

Phosphodiester linkage

A strong covalent chemical bond that joins the 5’- carbon of one sugar molecule to the 3’- carbon of another sugar molecule via a central phosphate group, forming the structural backbone of DNA and RNA

Purine

Natural chemical compounds made of carbon and nitrogen that form an essential part of DNA, RNA, and living cells

Pyramidine

An aromatic, heterocyclic organic compound with a single six-membered ring containing four carbon atoms and two nitrogen atoms at the 1 and 3 positions