Carbohydrate respiration Flashcards
What are the three ways that we can process energy?
Heterotrophy- when an organism ingests or absorbs organic carbon to produce energy and synthesis compounds to maintain life
Autotrophy- When complex organic compounds are produced from simple substrates using light or inorganic chemical reactions
Phototrophy- photon capture to acquire energy- energy from light to carry out cellular metabolic processes
What are monosaccharides?
Simple sugars containing 3-7 carbons and an aldehyde or ketone functional group, e.g. glucose, ribose, galactose
What are Disaccharides?
A class of sugars whose molecules control two monosaccharides residues e.g. sucrose
What are oligosaccharides?
a carbohydrate whose molecules are composed of a relatively small number of monosaccharide units
Polysaccharides
High Mr polymers of many monosaccharides e.g. glycogen, starch, cellulose
What type of bond join two monosaccharides?
Glycosidic
What is the most common building block of polysaccharides?
D-glucose
What are the names of polysaccharides composed of single and many types of building blocks?
Homopolymers
Heteropolymers
What is the Mr of cellulose?
50,000
What is cellulose?
It is an unbranched polymer of glucose molecules connected by B1-4 links.
What is the structure of cellulose?
- The B configuration allows cellulose to from very long straight chains.
- Fibrils are formed by parallel chains that interacts with one another through hydrogen bonds
- Because of β-1,4 links, alternating residues flipped through 180° relative to each other
- H-bonds stabilise this, giving a linear secondary structure
- Polymer chains have a high affinity for each other and form parallel bundles
- The straight chain formed by β linkages is optimal for the construction of fibers having a high tensile strength
What is the function of cellulose?
Structural polymer
What are the main polysaccharides used in the storage of chemical energy?
- Starch (plants)
- Glycogen (animals)
What is the structure of starch and glycogen?
-Both starch and glycogen are homopolymers of α-1-4 linked glucose with occasional α-1-6 branch points
-The α-1,4 linkages in glycogen and starch produce a very different molecular architecture from that of cellulose - the resulting open helix is well suited to forming an accessible store of sugar
• Glycogen has chains of 8-12 units long each with branches every 8-10 units, 2 branches per chain
• Starch has branched and unbranched forms. The branched forms have chains of 20-25 units with branches every 12-25 units
• Starch has longer chains than glycogen but fewer ends
Where is glycogen stored?
Glycogen is found in the cytosol as dense granules which contain glycogen and the enzymes involved in both its synthesis and mobilization
How do glycosidic bonds determine polysaccharide structure?
Beta linkages have bonds between groups above and below the ring -> straight chain
-a linkages have bonds between groups on one side of the ring -> chain curves
What causes a hollow helix instead of a straight chain?
The a1-4 linkages
Why is branching important in glycogen?
• Branched structure gives lots of non-reducing ends for fast breakdown and synthesis
What polysaccharides are used for recognition and signalling?
-Chondroitin sulfate, heparin, hyaluronate
Where are glycosaminoglycans found and is its function?
It is present on the animal cell surface and in the extracellular matrix.
They are involved in a variety of extracellular and intracellular functions
What are glycosaminoglycans made of?
-Disaccharide repeating units containing a derivative of an amino sugar, either glucosamine or galactosamine; at least one of the sugars in the repeating unit has a negatively charged carboxylate or sulfate group.
What are glycosaminoglycans attached too and what does this form?
What are their functions?
-Glycosaminoglycans are usually attached to proteins to form proteoglycans
-Proteoglycans function as lubricants and structural components in connective
tissue, mediate adhesion of cells to the extracellular matrix, and bind factors that stimulate cell proliferaiton
-Heparin contains the highest net negative charge of the disaccharides and acts as a natural anticoagulant substance
Where is glycogen made and broken down?
The liver and muscle
What are the biosynthesis and catabolic pathways of glycogen?
Synthesis (glycogenesis:
Glycogen +UDP-glucose –> glycogen (n+1) +UDP )
Degradation (glycogenolysis):
Glycogen +Pi -> Glycogen (n+1) + glucose 1- phosphate