U1 Chapter 5: The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules Flashcards
Macromolecules
Huge-size and chain like molecules called polymers, ex. large carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids
Polymer
A long molecule consisting of many similar or identical building blocks linked by covalent bonds, much as a train consists of a chain of boxcars
Monomers
The repeating units that serve as the building blocks of a polymer
Enzymes
Specialized macromolecules (usually proteins) that speed up chemical reactions
- The reaction that connects a monomer to another monomer or a polymer is a condensation reaction (a reaction in which two molecules are covalently bonded to each other with the loss of a small molecule)
Dehydration Reaction
If a water molecule is lost
Hydrolysis
A process that is essentially the reverse of the dehydration reaction
Carbohydrate
Include sugars and polymers of sugars
- the simplest carbohydrates are the monosaccharides/simple sugars
Monosaccharides
Generally have molecular formulas that are some multiple of the unit CH2O
Disaccharide
Consists of two monosaccharides joined by a glycosidic linkage, a covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a dehydration reaction
Polysaccharides
Macromolecules, polymers with a few hundred to a few thousand monosaccharides joined by glycosidic linkages
Starch
A polymer of glucose monomer, as granules within cellular structures known as plastids (plastids include chloroplasts)
Glycogen
A polymer of glucose that is like amylopectin but more extensively branched
Cellulose
A major component of the tough walls that enclose plant cells
Chitin
The carbohydrate used by arthropods (insects, spiders, etc.) to build their exoskeletons
Lipids
Hydrophobic, based on molecular structure
- consists mostly of hydrocarbon regions with relatively non polar C-H bonds
Fat
Consists of a glycerol molecule joined to three fatty acids
Fatty Acid
Has a long carbon skeleton where the carbon at one end of the skeleton is part of the carboxyl group, the functional group
Saturated and Unsaturated Fatty Acid
Saturated with hydrogen, unsaturated ones have one or more double bonds with one fewer hydrogen atom at each double-bonded carbon
Phospholipid
Only two fatty acids attached to glycerol rather than three, the third hydroxyl group of glycerol is joined to a phosphate group, which has a negative electrical charge in the cell
Steroids
Lipids characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of four fused rings
Cholesterol
A type of steroid, a crucial molecule in animals as it is a common component of animal cell membranes and is also the precursor from which other steroids, such as vertebrate sex hormones, are synthesized
Catalysts
Chemical agents that selectively speed up chemical reactions without being consumed in the reaction
Polypeptide
The bond between amino acids are called polypeptide bonds, so a this is a polymer of amino acids
Protein
Biologically functional molecule made up of one or more polypeptides, each folded and coiled into a specific 3D structure
Amino Acid
Organic molecule with both an amino group and a carboxyl group
Peptide Bond
When two amino acids are positioned so that the carboxyl group of one is adjacent to the amino group of the other, they can become joined by a dehydration reaction with the removal of a water molecule
Sickle-Cell Disease
An inherited blood disorder caused by the substitution of one amino acid (Valine) for the normal one (Glutamic Acid) at the position of the sixth amino acid in the primary structure of hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells
Denaturation
If the pH, salt concentration, temperature, or other aspects of its environment are altered, the weak chemical bonds and interactions within a protein may be destroyed, causing the protein to unravel and lose its native shape
X-Ray Crystallography
Depends on the diffraction of an X-ray beam by the atoms of a crystallized molecule in order to determine the 3D structure of a protein
Gene
The amino Acid sequence of a polypeptide is programmed by a discrete unit of inheritance
Nucleic Acids
Polymers made of monomers called nucleotides
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)
Enable living organisms to reproduce their complex components from one generation to the next
Gene Expression
DNA also redirects RNA synthesis and, through RNA, controls protein synthesis
Polynucleotides
Nucleic Acids are macromolecules that exist as polymers
Pyrimidine
Six-membered ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms
- Cytosine, Thymine, and Uracil
Purine
Larger six-membered ring fused to a five-membered ring
- Adenine and Guanine
Bioinformatics
The use of computer software and other computational tools that can handle and analyze these large data sets
Genomics
Analyzing large sets of genes or even comparing them to whole genomes of different species
