15 and 16 - Carbohydrates and nucleic acids Flashcards
After several hours an alkaline solution of D-glucose will also contain what and why?
It will also contain D-mannose and D-fructose due to isomerizations from intramolecular shifts of a hydrogen atom and a relocation of a double bond. The intermediate formed is an enediol and the reversible transformation of glucose to fructose is an aldose-ketose interconversion. The conversion of glucose to mannose is referred to as epimerization.
What does reduction of aldehyde and ketone groups in monosaccharides yield?
The sugar alcohols additols. For example the reduction of D-glucose yields D-glucitol (aka, D-sorbitol) . Sugar alcohols are frequently used as preservatives (especially sorbitol in candy and whanot)
What are three important monosaccharides?
glucose, fructose and galactose
What is the reducing component of reducing sugars?
The anomeric C (which is not tied up) that can open to form an aldehyde. These free anomerics can form dissacharides (glucose is an example of a sugar that can do this)
Hemiacetal and hemiketals react with alcohol to form what?
The corresponding acetals and ketals, which have a glycosidic linkage and form a glycoside compound.
What are disaccharides?
Two monosaccharides linked by a glycosidic bond. Linkages can be a or b-conformation, and carbons that are connected are denoted
What is the glycosidic bond in maltose?
α(1 -> 4) between two D-glucoses, monomer of starch hydrolysis
What is the glycosidic bond in lactose?
β(1 -> 4) between galactose and glucose
What is the glycosidic bond in sucrose?
Sucrose is two glucoses connected between anomeric carbons, one α and one β. This means there is no free anomeric carbon and therefore sucrose is a non-reducing sugar
What is the max number of units in an oligosaccharide?
15
What are the two types of polysaccharides?
Homoglycans and heteroglycans. Homoglycans contain only one type of sugar monomer where heteroglycans can contain many
What is the glycosidic bond in the homoglycan polysaccharide of glucose?
What stabilizes this structural polymer?
Cellulose has glucoses attached by a β(1 ->4) bond
Found in plant cell walls and chitin
It is stabilized by interchain hydrogen bonds
Why can’t humans digest cellulose? What does this make cellulose in our diets?
Humans can’t digest β(1 -> 4) glycosidic bonds and therefore can’t breakdown cellulose. This makes cellulose fibre in our diets.
What is starch called in biochemistry? What type of glycosidic bonds and substituents does it have? How is it stored in plants? Can we break it down?
Starch is also known as α-amylose and has α(1 -> 4) bonds. We can break it down into it’s glucose monomers.
It is formed of amylose (unbranched) and amylopectin (branched)
In plant cells it can assemble into compact helical structures, (why things like potatoes are so dense).
Humans can cleave the α(1 -> 4) glycosidic bonds between glucose units with amylase, making starch a good source of glucose.
What is glycogen?
Glycogen resembles amylose (unbranched) and has the same major glycosidic bond α(1 -> 4) and similar branch pattern. But it is about twice as branched as amylopectin.
Animals produce it, it has high weight to energy ratio and is compact and easily mobilized. It is not however very efficient.
Glycogen and amylopectin are reducing sugars, why?
They have a free anomeric end, but only one, meaning that can reduce once.
What are two types of complex polysaccharides and their substituents?
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs)
- Five classes, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, heparin and heparin sulfate, and keratin sulfate
- Have varying roles based on repeating unit
Glycoconjugates
- Proteoglycans
- Glycoproteins
- Glycolipids
What are glycosaminoglycans (GAGs)?
Linear polymers with a variety of disaccharide repeating units. A type of complex polysaccharide that have varying roles based on repeating units. There are five classes.
What are glycoconjugates? What are the three main types?
These result from carbohydrates being linked to proteins and lipids. A type of
complex carbohydrate, there are three main types:
Proteoglycans (main part is glycan sugar)
Glycoproteins (main part of polymer is protein). The protein is covalently linked to the glycan (N-linked or O-linked)
Glycolipids
What distinguishes proteoglycans from other glycoproteins?
By their very high carbohydrate content (95%). Proteoglycans are very hydrogen rich as well. They occur on cell surfaces or are secreted to the extracellular matrix.
What is the link between the carbohydrate and protein in N-linked glycoproteins? What is the tripeptide motifs attached to the amino acid residue attached to the carbohydrate? This template often codes for glycosylation.
A beta-glycosidic bond with the amide nitrogen of Asn. The tripeptide motif is where every third resiude from the Asn is either threonine or serine. This is like a template that results in glycosylation (though not always). A sample motif is Asn-X-Thr-Asn-X-Thr etc.
The attachment is covalent
In the O-linked form of glycoproteins what is the bond between the sugar and the amino acid residue (what residue is it?
The sugar forms a alpha-glycosidic bond with the hydroxy oxygen of Ser or Thr. Not every occurence of Ser or Thr in a protein results in glycosylation though.
Which is more common, O-glycosylation or N-glycosylation?
N-glycosylation. Even though the requirements for it in the amino acid residue sequence are more strict
How could O-linked glycoproteins play a role in cold ocean survival?
An antifreeze glycoprotein can be made. This would have repeating unit structures with free OG groups that can bind to ice.
The antifreeze is an O-linked tripeptide polymer
What type of bonds are nucleotides linked by?
3’,5’ phosphodiester bonds. These join the 3’-hydroxyl of one nucleotide to the 5’-phosphate of another
What allows the two strands of DNA to form hydrogen bonds between the nitrogenous bases?
The antiparallel nature of the two strands.
How long is one turn of double helix DNA? How many base pairs is that?
3.32 nm and 10.3 base pairs
What is the diameter of the double helix of DNA?
2.37 nm, the only length suitable for base pairing a purine with a pyrimidine.
What is the distance between adjacent base pairs in DNA?
.29 to .30 nm
How many hydrogen bonds do guanine and cytosine make? How many do thymine and adenine make?
Cytosine and guanine make 3 base pairs, adenine and thymine make two