Lecture 2: WHAT IS BIOCHEMISTRY?

Question 1

What things depend on biochemistry?

Answer 1

How cells:

• sense and respond to their environment
• make and break molecules
• access and use energy in food

Question 2

What does the central dogma show?

Answer 2

DNA + DNA Replication
Transcription of DNA to form RNA
Translation of RNA to form proteins

Question 3

What are the informational molecules?

Answer 3

DNA and RNA

Question 4

What are the functional molecules?

Answer 4

RNA and proteins

Question 5

What does the sequence of amino acids determine?

Answer 5

How the protein folds

Question 6

Why is the structure of a protein important?

Answer 6

Because it determines the proteins function

Question 7

What is the primary structure?

Answer 7

The sequence of amino acids

Question 8

What is the secondary structure?

Answer 8

Alpha helices and beta sheets formed by side chain interaction

Question 9

What is tertiary structure?

Answer 9

3D structure of secondary structure interacting. Parts further apart in molecules may be brought closer together

Question 10

What is quaternary structure?

Answer 10

Protein structures interacting

Question 11

How is tertiary structure stabilised?

Answer 11

By ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interaction and disulphide bridges

Question 12

What are ionic bonds?

Answer 12

Between positively and negatively charged amino acid side chains (sometimes called salt bridges)

Question 13

What are hydrogen bonds?

Answer 13

Between hydrogen and oxygen

Question 14

What are hydrophobic interactions?

Answer 14

Between hydrophobic side chains of amino acids

Question 15

What are disulphide bridges?

Answer 15

Occurs between neighbouring cysteine residues

Question 16

What is the first step of making and isolating proteins?

Answer 16

Genes of interest are inserted into the plasmid

Question 17

What happens after genes of interest are inserted into the plasmid?

Answer 17

Transfection into host cell

Question 18

What happens after transfection into host cell?

Answer 18

Protein expression in host cell

Question 19

What happens after protein expression in host cell?

Answer 19

Host organism expansion in bioreactor

Question 20

What happens after host organism in bioreactor?

Answer 20

Protein purification

Question 21

What happens after protein purification?

Answer 21

Soluble protein

Question 22

What can we do by solving protein structures?

Answer 22

We can understand how molecules interact which allow the synthesis of mimic molecules which can be used

Question 23

How do cells respond to the outside environment?

Answer 23

Using receptors on the cell surface

Question 24

What does stimulation of cell surface receptors do?

Answer 24

Cause a relay of interactions of molecules (transduction) which ends in a cellular response to the initial stimuli

Question 25

What is a dehydration reaction?

Answer 25

Removal of water for polymer formation

Question 26

What is a hydrolysis reaction?

Answer 26

When water is added to break a bond

Question 27

Why is breaking molecules important?

Answer 27

It breaks down a complex molecule into its individual components

Question 28

What is the energy currency of a cell?

Answer 28

ATP

Question 29

Where is ATP generated?

Answer 29

In the electron transport chain of the mitochondria

Question 30

How is ATP made?

Answer 30

Through the oxidation of fuel molecules (mainly glucose and fats but also proteins)

Question 31

What synthesises ATP?

Answer 31

A protein (ATP Synthase)