macromolecules Flashcards
What is shared among every form of life?
some core components
-macromolecules
-water
-ions and small molecules
All cells are made up of..
macromolecules
macromolecules (list them)
carbohydrates
lipids
proteins
nucleic acids
what is the factor of each macromolecule in every form of life (how much of each)
mostly proteins
then nucleic acids
then carbs
then lipids
what are macromolecules
polymers
except lipids
what is every macromolecule composed of
each type of macromolecule is composed of individual types of units called monomers
every monomer has a hydroxide and H+ to link each monomer to one another
how do macromolecules differ from one another
-length
-bonds
-branching
-rings
-presence of functional groups
^^ these lead to macromolecules having different shapes and thus different tasks
how are macromolecules assembled
with dehydration reactions/condensation reaction
-water is removed when synthesizing a polymer
-H+ of polymer and OH- of the unlinked monomer react to form a water molecule that leaves and creates a bond between the polymer and monomer
how are macromolecules broken down
by hydrolysis reactions
adding a water molecule
describe the energy abundance and change in dehydration and hydrolysis reactions
dehydration reactions require energy
hydrolysis reactions produce energy
Uses of Carbohydrates
energy storage (main function)
identification of a compound
structure
characteristics of carbohydrates
variation in carbohydrates comes from differences in sizes
all follow the general molecular formula CH2O
what is the most common carbohydrate used by organisms on earth
6 carbon sugars
glucose
broken down and used as primary energy source
what are the individual monomers of carbohydrates
monosaccharides
difference between beta and alpha structures in carbohydrates
the OH below the plane = alpha
the OH above the plane = beta
if the bond between monomers is facing down —> alpha
if the bond between monomers is facing up = beta bond
why does it matter if there is a beta bond vs an alpha bond
alpha bonds have biological enzymes that can break them down
mammals don’t have enzymes that can break apart beta bonds
what is the name of the bond formed between two carbohydrates
glycosidic bond
covalent bond using oxygen as a bridge
ether bond
describe the building blocks of carbohydrates (4 different hierarchical categories of units they can be found in)
monosaccharides
-individual units to build larger carbs
disaccharides
-two monosaccharides linked by covalent bond
oligosaccharides
-3-20 monosaccharides
polysaccharides
-hundreds to thousands of monosaccharides
The structural differences in carbohydrates are what dictates__-
their physical properties
could be storage carbs or structural carbs
storage molecules
(carbs)
starch and glycogen
starch vs glycogen
starch - storage carbs in plants
- mostly linear with some branches
-soluble
glycogen - storage carbs in mammals
- more branched
-highly water insoluble
structural molecule
(carbs)
cellulose
-highly structured, most common organic compound
-creates cell wall of plant cells
-completely linear
how do carbs serve as identification
they are on the surface of cells and tells what the cell is/is for
ex:
surface of red blood cells have oligosaccharides which allows for the identification of blood cells/blood type
how could you eliminate the immune reaction to the wrong blood type
break away the monomer(of the oligosaccharide) on the cell surface that prohibits identification of a blood cell as O type
O type has the basic 4 ring structure of blood cell carbs
when/how do you get branching in carbohydrates?
every time you get an alpha 1 to 6 bond you get branching
carbon 1 and carbon 6 of two monomers
bond
the difference between the number of branching is due to the number of alpha 1 to 6 bonds
describe the properties/shape of cellulose, starch, and glycogen and what that does to its function
cellulose is highly structured and linear
& has beta bonds so it can’t be digested
starch is slightly branched but mostly linear
-allows it to bind to water but forms clumps
glycogen
very branched
highly water insoluble
uses of lipids
energy storage
insulation(electrical thermal)
hormone signaling
membrane fluidity
characteristics of lipids
-non-polar
-hydrophobic
-long chain of ”hydrocarbons”
-C2H2O
-technically not a polymer
why is a lipids technically not a polymer
monomers are not covalently bonded together
the proximity of the atoms allow lipids to stack well through van der Waals forces
lipids
diverse group of hydrophobic molecules
long HC chains make it hydrophobic but allow it to store lots of energy
Triglycerides
fats or oils
made of glycerol backbone and fatty acids
ester linkage between backbone and fatty acid chain
fatty acid chain
hydrocarbon chain
saturated versus unsaturated fats
unsaturated fats are liquid at room temp
saturated fats solid at room temp
saturated fats have max # of hydrogens
unsaturated fats don’t have the max number of hydrogens due to a C=C double bond that causes a kink in the fatty acid that creates space.
phospholipids
-type of lipid
-make up phospholipid bilayer membrane of a cell
-amphipathic
-hydrophobic and hydrophilic components
-involved in signaling but also membrane structure
how is a phospholipid amphipathic
can interact with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic environments
hydrophilic head
phosphate head interacts with water
hydrophobic tails
two fatty acid tails
how does tail length affect fluidity of phospholipid bilayer
longer tails make it less fluid
more atoms(in the tails and in the head) are closer together so the phospholipids have more van der waals forces holding them together
how do unsaturated fats in phospholipid fatty acid tails affect fluidity
kinks in fats prevent packing of phospholipids and reduces the van der waals forces between the lipids
less packed togehter
makes it more fluid
how does cholesterol affect fluidity of phospholipid bilayer
cholesterol reduces fluidity at moderate temperatures, but at low temperatures it allows for fluidity as it hinders solidification of the bilayer
what would you expect to find in the membrane of an amoeba living near the permafrost of the artic
they will have a high conc. of unsaturated phospholipid tails to allow the membrane to remain fluid in cold temps.
or they can have more cholesterol to hinder solidification
function of proteins
everything except information storage
enzymatic proteins, defensive proteins, storage proteins, transport proteins, hormonal proteins, receptor proteins, contractile and motor proteins, structural proteins
monomers of proteins
aminoacids
20 chemically distinct amino acids exist
differ by R-group
amino acid features
amino group
carboxyl group (COOH)
R-group (responsible for diversity of amino acid)
Ca —> central carbon atom (alpha carbon)
r-groups
vary in chemical size but also properties
nonpolar, polar, or charged
what are the links between amino acids
peptide bonds
covalent bond formed by condensation reaction
growth and directionality of amino acid chains
new amino acids added to C-side of amino acid
C-side = COOH side
OH of C-side bonds to a H on N-side of new amino acid
N-side = start of peptide NH2
amino group and carboxyl group bond
amino acids linked together form a
peptide
small, unprocessed chain
how come all proteins are peptides but only long peptides are proteins
proteins are long and processed
primary structure
long chain of amino acids
held together by peptide bonds
have an amino acid end (Nterminus) and Carboxyl end (C Terminus)
Secondary structure
primary structure wound into an alpha helix or beta pleated sheet by hydrogen bonds
alpha helix is a coil caused by the proximity of oxygen and hydrogen bonds
tertiary structures
secondary structures fold back onto themselves to form tertiary structures
helix wrapped around itself uniquely
bonded by r-groups
driven by
hydrophobic interactions, stabilized by disulfide bridges and ionic interactions
quaternary structure
association of independent polypeptide chains to form a functional protein (hemoglobin)
2 or more tertiary proteins wrapped together
Nucleic acids primary use
storage, transmission, and use of genetic material
nucleic acids monomers
nucleotides
nucleic acids features
highly charged
sugar-phosphate backbone
directionality - 5’ end and 3’ end
base complementary
3 components that make up the monomers of nucleic acids (nucleotides)
pentose sugar, nitrogenous base, phosphate groups
explain the role of the carbons in the pentose sugar
carbon 1 is where the nitrogenous base is attached
carbon 2 identifies what sugar we have
carbon 5 is where the phosphate group is located
nitrogenous bases
pyrimidines :
cytosine, uracil, thymine
one-carbon nitrogen ring base
purines:
adenine, guanine
two-carbon nitrogen base
which nitrogenous bases pair with which
adenine and thymine(in DNA)
adenine and uracil (in RNA)
guanine and cytosine
what type of bond is between nitrogenous base pairs
hydrogen bonds
differences in bond strength between nitrogenous base pairs
2 hydrogen bonds between adenine and thymine
3 hydrogen bonds between guanine and cytosine
stronger
how do nucleotide monomers give polymers of nucleotides directionality
new nucleotides are added to nucleic acids through OH of sugar in nucleotide bonding to hydrogen in phosphate od phosphate head of another
every new nucleotide is added to 3’ end
always grow 5’ to 3’
how is a deoxyribose sugar and ribose sugar different
deoxyribose sugar has an H at the 2 carbon
ribose has an OH at thr 2 carbon
two types of nucleic acids
DNA; deoxyribonucleic acid
RNA; Ribonucleic acid
they both carry genetic info
difference between dna and rna
rna is single-stranded
-allows for folding and attraction between complimentary regions on itself
-diverse structures
dna is double stranded
rna has ribose sugar with OH at 2-carbon
dna has deoxyribose sugar with H at 2-carbon
%’s of nitrogenous bases in double stranded DNA
%adenine = %thymine
%guanine = %cytosine
DNA structure
forms double-stranded structures
antiparallel strands
hydrogen bonds link the two strands together
what did rosalind franklin do
used x-ray crystallography to discover structure of DNA
found that it was double stranded and the sugar phosphate was on the outside
