Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules Flashcards
4 macromolecule classes
- Lipids (only one that is not a polymer)
- Carbohydrates
- Nucleic acids
- Proteins
Polymer
Long molecule made of repeating similar subunits
Monomer
Individual building block
How are polymers made and degraded?
By enzymes through dehydration and hydrolysis reactions
General overview of lipids
- Hydrophobic
- Not polymers
- Functions in cell structure, energy storage and cell signalling
Fat biological makeup
Fatty acids bonded to a glycerol
Saturated fats
- Have single bonds
- Solid at room temperature
Unsaturated fats
- Have double and single bonds
- Liquid at room temperature
Phospholipids
Amphipathic molecule that form the basis of cell membranes
Phospholipids biological makeup
2 fatty acids and a phosphate group covalently bonded to a glycerol
Steroids biological makeup
Consist of four fused rings
Carbohydrates functions
- Energy generation and storage
- Raw material for biological molecules
- Cell and organism structure
Carbohydrates simple definition
Monomers and polymers of sugars
Monosaccharide
- Simple sugar monomer
- 3 to 8 carbon atoms
- Chemical formula that is a multiple of CH2O
Disaccharide
- Two monosaccharides connected via covalent glycosidic linkages
Polysaccharide
Polymer of ten to thousands of monosaccharides joined by glycosidic linkages
Nucleic acids
- Polymers of nucleotides
- Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA)
- Genetic material of all life on Earth
Nucleotide
Has a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar and a phosphate molecule
What is the sugar in RNA?
Ribose
What is the sugar in DNA?
Deoxyribose
Pyrimidines
Nitrogenous base that consists of one ring
Purines
Nitrogenous base that consists of 2 fused rings
How are nucleotides connected?
via phosphodiester linkages in nucleic acid
What is the function of nucleic acids?
Storage and transmission of hereditary information
What is a gene?
A stretch of DNA encoding a specific RNA or protein
What is gene expression?
The production of RNA, and then protein, from a gene
What are proteins/polypeptides made up of?
Polymers of amino acids
Amino Acids
- 20 amino acids
- 4 features: alpha-carbon, amino group, carboxyl group and a side chain
4 different categories of side chains found in amino acids
- Non-polar side chains
- Polar side chains
- Negativity charged side chains
- Positively charged side chains
What is the bond between amino acids called?
Peptide bonds
Primary (protein organization)
Linear chain of amino acids
Secondary (protein organization)
- Regions stabilized by hydrogen bonds between atoms of the polypeptide backbone
- Alpha helix and Beta pleated sheets
Tertiary (protein organization)
3D shapes stabilized by interactions between amino acid side chains
Quaternary (protein organization)
Association of two or more polypeptides
Which nitrogenous bases are pyrimidines?
- Thymine
- Cytosine
- Uracil
Which nitrogenous bases are purines?
- Adenine
- Guanine