3/3/2011

A question from a previous year

The electron micrograph above represents a cross-section of a: 1. chloroplast. 2. mitochondrion. oc o d o 3. eukaryotic flagellum. 4. Golgi body. 5. ribosome.

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

LECTURE 2
The Chemical Components of C ll Cells

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Chemical composition of cells

The chemical composition of all cells is the same. same -70% of the weight of bacteria and most cells is water - the dry residue contains 50% C, 10% N, 15% H, 20% O and 5% other including S (protein) and P (nucleic acid)

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Cell fractionation
A cell homogenate can be fractionated using acid. - the acid soluble fraction (20%) contains small molecules. - the acid-insoluble fraction (80%) contains large molecules (macromolecules) which can be further divided according to their affinity for non-polar solvents.

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Fractionation of a cell homogenate

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Polymer assembly and degradation

Principles of polymer assembly and degradation. - polymers are large molecules made of many identical or similar building blocks (monomeric subunits). - the monomers are joined via condensation reactions in which a molecule of water is lost (one monomer provides the -H and the other the -OH). OH) - polymers are disassembled by the reverse process (hydrolysis). Bonds between monomers are broken by the addition of water molecules.
BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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(a) Dehydration reaction: synthesizing a polymer

1 2 3 Unlinked monomer

Campbell 5.2

Short polymer Dehydration removes a water molecule, forming a new bond.

Polymer assembly and degradation

Longer polymer (b) Hydrolysis: breaking down a polymer

1 2 3 4

Hydrolysis adds a water molecule, breaking a bond.

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Macromolecules
a) Lipids - soluble in non-polar organic solvents such as chloroform - used as energy sources, structural molecules (membranes), hormones etc. i) Fats - formed by the combination of two types of compounds - glycerol (an alcohol) and fatty acids - largely hydrophobic (water-fearing) and therefore water-insoluble. - major use as storage material (6X energy of glycogen)
BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Synthesis of a fat molecule

Fatty acid (in this case, palmitic acid)

Glycerol (a) One of three dehydration reactions in the synthesis of a fat

Campbell 5.10a

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Structure of a fat molecule

Ester linkage

(b) Fat molecule (triacylglycerol)

Campbell 5.10b

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Macromolecules (contd)
a) Lipids (contd) ii) ) Phospholipids p p - same general structure as fats except that one fatty acid is replaced by a phosphatelinked group - amphipathic ie hydrophilic (water-loving) head and hydrophobic tail - in water, they self-assemble into aggregates th t shield that hi ld th their i hydrophobic h d h bi portions ti from f the aqueous environment - micelles and bilayers - important molecules in the structure of membranes
BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Structure of a phospholipid

Campbell 5.12

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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The phospholipid bilayer

Campbell 5.13

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Macromolecules (contd)
b) Polysaccharides - composed of sugars linked by glycosidic bonds - monosaccharides - 1 sugar molecule eg glucose, fructose, ribose - disaccharides - 2 sugar molecules eg sucrose, l t lactose - polysaccharides - many sugar molecules linked together into chains

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Monosaccharides and disaccharides

Campbell 5.5

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Functions of polysaccharides
Polysaccharides may be used:- as energy stores eg glycogen is stored in muscles; starch is an important storage material in plants - as structural material eg cellulose in plants (a polymer of glucose); chitin in exoskeletons of crustacea and insects - carbohydrate residues can also be joined to proteins or lipids (glycoproteins and glycolipids).

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Storage g polysaccharides

Campbell 5.6a

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Storage polysaccharides (contd)

Campbell 5.6b

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Structural polysaccharides (1)

Campbell 5.8

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Structural polysaccharides (2)

Campbell 5.9

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Macromolecules (contd)
c) Proteins - all proteins consist of the same 20 amino acids in different molar proportions - amino acids are linked by peptide bonds, each chain = a polypeptide

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Macromolecules (contd)
c) Proteins (contd) - amino acids have 4 groups bonded to a central C atom called the -carbon: -a carboxyl group COOH -an amino group NH2 -a hydrogen atom H -a side chain which is different for each amino acid R - charged and polar amino acids are hydrophilic, nonpolar amino acids tend to be hydrophobic
BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Macromolecules (contd)
c) Proteins (contd) - in making the peptide chain, the charged amino and carboxyl groups are all used to form peptide bonds (except for those at the C- and N-termini) - the backbone is informationally uninteresting. Th side The id groups (R groups) ) provide id sense and d information. - diverse range of functions (see Lecture 5)

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Amino acid structures (1)

Nonpolar side chains; hydrophobic Side chain

Glycine (Gly or G)

Alanine (Ala or A)

Valine (Val or V)

Leucine (Leu or L)

Isoleucine (Ile or I)

Methionine (Met or M) Campbell 5.16a

Phenylalanine (Phe or F)

Tryptophan (Trp or W)

Proline (Pro or P)

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Amino acid structures (2)

Polar side chains; hydrophilic

Serine (Ser or S)

Threonine (Thr or T)

Cysteine (Cys or C)

Tyrosine (Tyr or Y)

Asparagine (Asn or N)

Glutamine (Gln or Q)

Campbell 5.16b

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Amino acid structures (3)

Electrically charged side chains; hydrophilic Basic (positively charged) Acidic (negatively charged)

Aspartic acid Glutamic acid (Glu or E) (Asp or D)

Lysine (Lys or K)

Arginine (Arg or R)

Histidine (His or H)

Campbell 5.16c

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Making a polypeptide chain

Peptide bond New peptide bond forming Side chains

Backbone

Amino end (N-terminus)

Peptide bond

Carboxyl end (C-terminus)

Campbell 5.17

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Macromolecules (contd)
d) Nucleic Acids (RNA and DNA) - consist of long chains of nucleotides which themselves consist of three subunits - a phosphate group, a 5-carbon sugar and a nitrogenous base - the nucleotides are joined by phosphodiester bonds - in i RNA th the backbone b kb contains t i the th sugar ribose ib whereas in DNA the backbone contains the sugar deoxyribose

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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Macromolecules (contd)
d) Nucleic Acids (contd) - the nitrogenous bases can be purines (A & G) or pyrimidines (C & T or U) - the informational interest of the molecule comes from the bases bonded to the sugarphosphate backbone - all informational processes in the cell involve DNA and RNA. Nucleotides have other functions in cells eg storage of chemical energy in ATP, intracellular signalling cAMP.
BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Components of nucleic acids

5 end 5C 3C Nucleoside Nitrogenous base 5C 1C 5C 3C 3 end (a) Polynucleotide, or nucleic acid Phosphate group (b) Nucleotide Sugars 3C Sugar (pentose) Adenine (A) Guanine (G) Cytosine (C) Thymine (T, in DNA) Purines Uracil (U, in RNA) Sugar-phosphate backbone Nitrogenous bases Pyrimidines

Deoxyribose (in DNA) (c) Nucleoside components

Ribose (in RNA)

Campbell 5.26

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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C C G G C G C

3.4 nm
T A G C C G A T

The DNA double helix

1 nm
T C G C G G C A

T A T A T

0.34 nm Campbell 16.7a

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

Now for a quick test..

Which of the following is true of both starch and cellulose? 1. They can both be digested by humans 2. They are both polymers of glucose. 3. They are both structural components of plant cell walls. 4. They are geometric isomers of each other. 5. They are both used for energy storage in plants.

BIOSCI 101: Cellular and Molecular Biology

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