Chapter 13: Carbohydrate Structure and Function Flashcards
Define Oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, glycoproteins, and proteoglycans.
Oligosaccharides:
- Basic sugars that range from 3-20 unbrached and branched sugar residues
Ex. Human milk
Polysaccharides:
- Homo/hetero-polysaccharides, linear, or branched. They are extremely large and serve as structure and fuel for cells
Ex. Starch or Glycogen
Glycoproteins:
- Macromolecules that consist of proteins and sugars used in insertion, secretion, and are targeted by organelle
Proteoglycans:
- Macromoluecule consisting of carbohydrates and found in the matrix of animals or cell wall of bacteria
List the repeating units and glycosidic linkage for polysaccharide.
Alpha1->4 linkage and Alpha 1->6 linkage when branching from amylose to glycogen
Describe the two types of glycosidic linkages in glycoconjugates and which amino acids are they linked to.
- There is N linkage and O linkage
- N linkage occurs through the amine N of Asn (requires Asn-X-Ser/Thr)
- O linkage occurs through O of Ser or Thr
Why are some blood groups compatible while others are not?
Because certain blood types have antibodies in the plasma or antigens on the RBC that means the blood will attack itself if they are not compatible
Describe the composition of peptidoglycan. How antibiotics target it, and the mechanism bacteria use to acquire antibiotic resistance.
- In cell wall of bacteria, composed of GlcNAc and MurNAc(beta1-4) tethered together by peptides
- Penecillin stops transpeptidase which synthesizes the cell wall. Forms suicide inhibitor bt Ser in Transpeptidase and carbonyl C in Penecillin
- Bacteria were able to resist penecillin by cleaving the beta-lactam ring
What does an aldose look like?
What does a ketose look like?
What is the formula for carbohydrates?
Cn(H2O)n where N >or= 3
What is the function of carbohydrates?
- Energy source
- Structural component of cell walls and exoskeleton
- Informational molecules in cell-cell signaling
What is an oligosaccharide?
- A sugar that ranges from 3-20 unbrached and branched sugar residues
Ex. Human milk derived from lactose
(Lacto-N-tetraose)
(Lacto-N-fucopentaose-1)
How does human milk benefit an infants intestinal tract?
- Prebiotic oligosaccharides (Lacto-N-tetraose) can serve as a growth advantage for bifidobacteria among intestinal bacteria
- Lacto-N-fucopentaose 1 will bind to receptors on intestinal cells which blocks pathogen bacteria from being able to bind
Why can’t humans digest plant oligosaccharides?
- Humans lack α-galactosidase enzyme needed to hydrolyze the α-1,6 glycosidic bond
Ex. Raffinose, Stachyose, Verbascose
What is beano?
- A preparation of α-galactosidase that can aid in digestion of Oligosaccharides which releases galactose and sucrose
- Sucrose –Sucrase–> glucose/fructose (in small intestine)
What is a polysaccharide’s structure like?
Structure:
Homopolysaccharides, heteropolysacchrides,linear, branched
What is the function of polysaccharides?
- Structural element
- Cellulose and Chitin
- Storage of monosaccharides as fuel
- Starch in plants and glycogen in animals
What is cellulose?
An unbranching homopolysaccharide consisting of ~1000 repeating units of disaccharide cellobiose
- Linkage by Beta1- 4 glycosidic bonds
- H bonds b/t cellulose strands
- Component of cell wall
- Most abundant polysaccharide in nature
Ex. Cotton
What is Roughage? What is cellulase?
- Roughage is plant material high in cellulose and it passes through the digestive system without being digested
- Cellulase is what allows fungi bacteria and protozoa to use wood as a food source
What is chitin?
-Linear homopolysaccharide of N-acetyl Glucosamine (contains beta-1,4 glycosidic bonds)
- Found in insects and crustaceans
- Provides strong body frame due to H bonds within polysaccharides