Biochemistry Chapter 1

What is the most exciting discovery of Biochemistry

That all organisms have similar biochemistry (common processes)

Unity of Biochemistry

All organisms are the basically the same at the molecular level

Jacques Monod

Proved that there were similarities between organisms. And that they all came from a common ancestor

“If it is true about E.coli, it must be true about elephants”

What are 98% of elements in an organism

Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen

Why is Oxygen and Hydrogen so abundant in living organisms

Because they are mostly made of water

Why did Albert Szent Györgyi about water

That it is the matrix of life, all organisms need it

Why can Carbon not be replaced by Silicon

Si-Si bonds are not as strong at C-C bonds, Silicon becomes insoluble after combustion and therefore cannot be recycled. And the breaking of an Si-Si bonds do not release as much energy as C-C bonds

What are the 4 major bio molecules

Acids, Proteins, Lipids, and Carbohydrates

What is a protein

20 or more amino acids linked together via peptide bonds to form a polymer

What is the predominant role of proteins

They are catalysts (enzymes), they help to initiate or speed up a biochemical process

Nucleic Acids

Information keepers of the cell. They store and transfer information and are made from nucleotides

Nucleotide

made from either deoxyribose or ribose sugar, nittrogenous base, and 1-3 phosphate groups

DNA

genetic information, contructed by unique deoxyribonucleotides

RNA

can be single-stranded, DNA is transcripted to become mRNA, other kinds are folded.

mRNA

The template of protein synthesis

Lipids

a storage form of fuel, often with hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. they are small and diverse, not polymers

how much does a lipid weigh

Normally about 1300g/mol

what is a key characteristic of lipids

• They have a dual chemical nature, which allows them to form barriers (cell membrane)

• They store energy and can combust

• crutial signal cells

Carbohydrates

The most important fuel source is commonly glucose. They also let cells recognize each other, serve as sites of cell-cell interactions

how is glucose held together

glycosidic links

How is glucose stores

Animals → gylcogen

Plants → starch

What is the central dogma of DNA

The scheme of information processing in gene expression

Who came up with it

Francis Crick in 1985

DNA replication

transfers biological information to new cells and organisms.

Genome

all the genetic information encoded by DNA in the whole organism

what catalyses DNA replication

DNA polymerase, by adding complementary nucleotides to each half of the parent

Gene expression

determines the physical nature of the organism.

Transcription

makes gene information accessible by forming RNA, where transcription occurs is crutial to how the cell functions

what catalyzes RNA formation

RNA polymerase

Functional RNA

a type of RNA that is not made into a protein and is folded after transcription

Ribosomes

Made from protein and RNA, and is the site of translation

periplasmic space

the space between two membranes in prokaryotes

Microbiome

all the microorganisms that inhabit us

what can distruptions in the microbiome cause

Type 2 diabetes, liver disease, cardovascular disease, and IBS

Two features in all cells

1. a barrier that separates the environments and the inside of the cell

2. an inside that is chemically different then the environment

Nucleus

the location of most of the cells DNA

mitochondrian

site of fuel oxidation

plasma membrane

seperates the inside of the cell from the outside

Endoscope

carries important biochemicals into the cell

Rough ER

membrane with ribosomes attatched

Chloroplast

site of photosynthesis

Lysosome

Contains digestive enzymes

Secretory granulus

destinated for fusion with the plasma membrane

Golgi complex

Site of protein sorting

Endoplasmic reticulum

Abundant form of cytoplasmic membrane

Transport vesicles

Facilitate communication between rough ER and golgi complex

Smooth ER

processes exogenous chemicals