Biomolecules

Review
• Why can’t cellulose be digested by humans and
what role does it play in plants?
• Why is glycogen branched and what is its role in
animals?
• Where would you find chitin in nature?
4 classes of biomolecules
1. Carbohydrates
2. Lipids
3. Proteins
4. Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA)
Lipids
• Lipids are not polymers
• Insoluble in water, hydrophobic
3 kinds of lipids

1. Fats

1. Phospholipids

2. Steroids
Fats
• Are constructed from glycerol (a 3-C alcohol) &
three fatty acids
• Fatty acids: long hydrocarbons (16-20 C atoms) with a
carboxyl group at one end
• Hydrophobic due to hydrocarbon chain
• Can be either saturated or unsaturated
• Fats are formed by dehydration reaction that leads
to an ester linkage
• Also known as triglycerides or triacylglycerols
Fats
Functions of fats
1. Storage of E: fats contain twice as much E per
gram as polysaccharides.
2. Protects internal organs
3. Prevent heat loss: whales & seals have a layer of
fat to keep them warm.
Types of fats
• Saturated fats: no C=C double bonds so there is a
maximum number of H atoms in the molecule
• These fatty acids form straight chains
• Solid at room temperature
• From animal sources
• Unsaturated fats: contain at least one C=C double
bond
• Causes a bend in the hydrocarbon backbone c c c
• Liquid at room temperature
• From plants and fish
Types of fats
Saturated vs Unsaturated fats
 Phospholipids
• Form the major component of
the plasma membrane
• Consist of
• A glycerol molecule
• Two fatty acid molecules
• A phosphate group (negatively
charged)
• Small hydrophilic group
attached to the phosphate
Plasma membrane
 Phospholipids
• Phospholipids are amphipathic: both hydrophilic &
hydrophobic regions
• fatty acid chains = hydrophobic
• phosphate group = hydrophilic
Activity time
 Phospholipids
• In water: phospholipids form
aggregates called micelles
• Hydrophilic heads directed
outward in contact with water
• Hydrophobic tails pointing
towards the center (sequestered)
 Phospholipids
• In cell membranes: phospholipids form lipid bilayer
• Hydrophilic heads at the outer and inner edges
• Hydrophobic tails form the core
 Steroids
• Consist of 4 fused C rings
• Cholesterol: component of cell membranes and is
also the starting compound for other steroids, such as
estradiol, testosterone, progesterone and cortisol
4 classes of biomolecules
1. Carbohydrates
2. Lipids
3. Proteins
4. Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA)
 Proteins
• The molecular tools of
the cell
• Proteins are polymers
• The monomers of
proteins are the amino
acids
• There are 20 different
amino acids for all
known living things
Amino acids
• Have a common
sequence of atoms
called a backbone and a
variable side chain
 Proteins
• A polymer of amino acids is
called a polypeptide
• A polypeptide is formed by
joining amino acids.
• What type of reaction joins
them? Dehydration condensation
• A protein can consist of one or
more polypeptides
 Proteins
• The bonds between amino
acids are called peptide bonds
• Repeated sequence of atoms
(purple) is called the
polypeptide backbone
• Extending off the backbone
are the different side chains.
• These bonds are formed by
dehydration synthesis
• Polypeptides can be a few to
1000s of amino acids in length
Protein examples
Protein examples
Protein structure and function
• All proteins start as a polymer of amino
acids, a polypeptide
• That chain of amino acids then gets
folded into a specific shape based on
the amino acids in the chain.
• The different amino acids will form
bonds with each other in different
ways depending on the sequence of
amino acids to form different
shapes.
• Each of these folded shapes that have a
specific function is now called a protein.
• Proteins of different shape will have
different functions.
Protein structure and function
• 3-D structure of a protein is essential to its function
 Protein denaturation
• When heated, a protein will lose its 3D structure
• This is the process of denaturation, and will result in a
loss of function of the protein
• Other chemicals can also denture proteins
4 classes of biomolecules
1. Carbohydrates
2. Lipids
3. Proteins
4. Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA)
 Nucleic acids
• Store & transmit heritable
information (Blueprints)
• 2 types of nucleic acids
• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
• Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
 Deoxyribonucleic acid
• The blueprint or instruction
manual of the cell
• Gene: A gene is the basic physical
and functional unit of heredity.
Genes, which are made up of DNA,
act as instructions to make
molecules called proteins.
• This is what chromosomes are
made of
• Each chromosome contains 100s to
1000s of genes
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
• DNA directs its own synthesis through the process
of replication
• DNA directs the synthesis of RNA through the
process of transcription
Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
There are 3 types of RNA:
1. Messenger RNA (mRNA) directs the synthesis of
a protein through the process of translation
2. Transfer RNA (tRNA) acts as a “delivery vehicle”
during the process of protein synthesis
3. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) makes up the structure of
the ribosome
Central dogma of molecular
biology
Structure of nucleic acids
• Nucleic acids are polymers of nucleotides
(polynucleotides) (nucleotides are the monomers)
• Nucleotides are comprised of:
1. A N-containing base (called nitrogenous base)
• There are 2 types of N-bases: purines and pyrimidines
• the sequence of bases for each gene is unique
2. Pentose sugar
3. Phosphate: attached to carbon 5 of sugar

Does this sound similar to something we’ve already seen?

Nitrogen base: 2 types

2) Purines:
- DNA & RNA: adenine (A) and guanine (G)
Structure of nucleic acids
 Synthesis of nucleic acids
• Connect pentose sugar of one nucleotide to the
phosphate of another nucleotide
• Linkage is called a phosphodiester bond and is
formed by dehydration synthesis
• This leads to the formation of a sugar phosphate
backbone
 Double helix
• DNA consists of 2 strands (double stranded)
• Wrapped into a double helix
• The nitrogenous bases are inside the helix
• The 2 strands are held together by H-bonds
sugar ea.am
pupae

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Discovery of the double helix
• Nobel prize for the discovery of the structure of
DNA was given to James Watson and Francis Crick
in 1962.
Discovery of the double helix
https://youtu.be/BIP0lYrdirI
• Rosalind Franklin 25 July 1920 – 16 April 1958 (37)
DNA complementarity
• DNA’s ability to replicate requires complementarity:
• A hydrogen bonds with T or u forRNA
• G hydrogen bonds with C
• Each strand works as a template (model) during
replication
• There are 2 H-bonds between A and T
• There are 3 H-bonds between G and C
• The strands are joined in an anti-parallel manner
• During replication, the H-bonds break & new H-bonds
form
DNA complementarity

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The sequence of basses
• The sequence of bases determines what the gene
will produce.
• The genetic code.
• Two genes will have different sequences
RNA
• Single stranded, but
can fold and
complement itself or
bind to regions of
complementarity on
other RNA strands.
Recap