Campbell Biology Chapter 5: The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards focusing on macromolecules, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, and genomics based on Chapter 5.

Macromolecules

Large polymers characterized by their huge size, comprising carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Polymer

A long molecule consisting of many similar or identical building blocks linked by covalent bonds.

Monomers

The repeating units that serve as the building blocks of a polymer.

Enzymes

Specialized macromolecules, usually proteins, that speed up chemical reactions such as those that make or break down polymers.

Dehydration reaction

A chemical reaction in which two monomers bond together through the loss of a water molecule.

Hydrolysis

A chemical reaction that disassembles polymers into monomers through the addition of a water molecule, acting as the reverse of a dehydration reaction.

Monosaccharides

The simplest carbohydrates, also known as simple sugars, which have molecular formulas that are usually multiples of $CH_2O$.

Glycosidic linkage

A covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a dehydration reaction.

Disaccharide

A sugar molecule consisting of two monosaccharides joined by a glycosidic linkage formed via a dehydration reaction.

Polysaccharides

Polymers composed of many sugar building blocks joined by glycosidic linkages, which fulfill storage and structural roles.

Starch

A storage polysaccharide in plants consisting entirely of glucose monomers linked together.

Amylose

The simplest form of starch, consisting of an unbranched chain of glucose monomers.

Glycogen

An extensively branched storage polysaccharide found in animals, stored mainly in liver and muscle cells.

Cellulose

A structural polysaccharide that forms a major component of the tough wall of plant cells, consisting of glucose monomers in the $\beta$ configuration.

Chitin

A structural polysaccharide found in the exoskeleton of arthropods and cell walls of many fungi.

Lipids

A diverse group of hydrophobic biological molecules that mix poorly with water and consist mostly of hydrocarbon regions.

Triacylglycerol

A fat molecule constructed from three fatty acid molecules joined to a single glycerol molecule by ester linkages; also known as a triglyceride.

Glycerol

A three-carbon alcohol with a hydroxyl group attached to each carbon.

Fatty acid

A molecule consisting of a carboxyl group attached to a long carbon skeleton.

Saturated fatty acid

A fatty acid in which all carbons in the hydrocarbon chain are connected by single bonds, maximizing the number of attached hydrogen atoms.

Unsaturated fatty acid

A fatty acid possessing one or more double bonds between carbons in the hydrocarbon chain, reducing the number of hydrogen atoms attached.

Trans fats

Unsaturated fats containing trans double bonds, created artificially through the process of hydrogenating vegetable oils.

Phospholipid

A lipid containing a glycerol attached to two fatty acids and a phosphate group, forming a molecule with hydrophobic tails and a hydrophilic head.

Steroids

Lipids characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of four fused rings.

Cholesterol

A steroid that serves as an essential component of animal cell membranes and as a precursor for synthesizing other steroids.

Polypeptides

Unbranched polymers built from the set of 20 amino acids.

Protein

A biologically functional molecule that consists of one or more polypeptides folded and coiled into a specific three-dimensional structure.

Amino acids

Organic molecules containing both an amino group and a carboxyl group, serving as the monomers of proteins.

Peptide bond

The covalent bond between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another, formed by a dehydration reaction.

Primary structure

The unique, linear sequence of amino acids in a protein, determined by inherited genetic information.

Secondary structure

Coils and folds in polypeptide chains resulting from hydrogen bonds between repeating constituents of the polypeptide backbone.

Tertiary structure

The overall three-dimensional shape of a polypeptide resulting from interactions between side chains (R groups).

Quaternary structure

The overall protein structure that results when two or more polypeptide chains aggregate into one functional macromolecule.

Denaturation

A process in which a protein loses its native shape due to environmental changes in pH, salt concentration, or temperature, rendering it biologically inactive.

Gene

A discrete unit of inheritance consisting of DNA that programs the primary amino acid sequence of a polypeptide.

Nucleic acids

Polymers (DNA and RNA) made of nucleotide monomers that store, transmit, and help express hereditary information.

Gene expression

The multi-step process by which DNA directs mRNA synthesis and, through mRNA, controls protein synthesis ($\text{DNA} \rightarrow \text{RNA} \rightarrow \text{Protein}$).

Polynucleotides

Nucleic acid polymers constructed from monomers called nucleotides linked by phosphodiester bonds.

Nucleotide

The monomer of a nucleic acid, consisting of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and one or more phosphate groups.

Nucleoside

The portion of a nucleotide consisting of a nitrogenous base bound to a pentose sugar, without any phosphate group.

Pyrimidines

A family of nitrogenous bases characterized by a single six-membered ring, including cytosine (C), thymine (T), and uracil (U).

Purines

A family of nitrogenous bases characterized by a six-membered ring fused to a five-membered ring, including adenine (A) and guanine (G).

Antiparallel

Referring to the arrangement of sugar-phosphate backbones in a DNA double helix, which run in opposite $5' \rightarrow 3'$ directions relative to one another.

Bioinformatics

The application of computer software and computational tools, such as AI, to analyze large biological data sets.

Genomics

An approach that involves analyzing large sets of genes or comparing whole genomes of different species.

Proteomics

The systematic analysis of large sets of proteins, including their sequences, structures, and properties.

enzymatic protein