lecture 1 + 2 Flashcards
four types of polymers
nucleic acids
polysaccharides
lipids
proteins
formation of lipid polymers
Acetate are building blocks of fatty acid (acyl) chains formed via dehydration.
acyl chains join with glycerol by ester linkages via dehydration to form triacylglycerol (fat/lipid molecule)
how life may have begun?
dust condensed into stars which make the elements (carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, helium)
what is life composed of
1.) simple molecules
2.) water vapour
3.) electrical discharge (lightning, solar energy, hydrothermal vents, earth’s magnetic core transferring electrons up to surface)
4.) amino acids and metabolites (pyruvate) produced
functions of lipids
energy storage
structural molecules
steroid hormones
phospholipid contribution to beginnings of life
phospholipid membrane vesicles grow in size until they destabilise and naturally bud into two vesicles grow repeat etc
phospholipid membranes also attract each other
polysaccharides structure
monosacchardies joined with glycosidic bonds
polysaccharides function
energy storage (glycogen in animal liver/muscles,, starch in plants)
structural molecules (cellulose in plants, chitin exoskeleton in arthropods, fungi)
carbohydrate residues –> glycolipids and glycoproteins
glycosidic bond types
alpha and beta (both 1-4)
alpha allows for more flexibility in glycogen and starch
beta allows for more rigidity in cellulose and chitin
nucleic acids/polynucleotides formation
nucleotides join together by phosphodiester bonds to form polynucleotides
variation of monomers in which polymers
nucleic acids - nucleotides sugars (ribose or deoxyribose) and base (purine, pyrimidine) can vary
proteins - amino acid R chains can vary
nucleic acid functions
energy storage (chemical energy in ATP)
information processes involving DNA and RNA
intracellular signalling cAMP
proteins formation
amino acids join by peptide bonds to form polypeptide chains
purine bases
double ring
adenine and guanine
pyrimidine bases
single ring
cytosine, uracil, thymine