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Lecture 3 - building blocks of cells Flashcards

1
Q

Building blocks and examples

A

Building blocks add together to form macromolecules. These include amino acids, nucleobases, simple carbohydrates and glycerol, fatty acids, hydrocarbon rings.

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2
Q

Macromolecules and examples

A

Macromolecules are made up of building blocks. These include proteins, DNA, RNA, complex carbohydrates and lipids.

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3
Q

Supramolecular assemblies and examples

A

Supramolecular assemblies form when two or more macromolecules come together. These include membranes, ribosomes and chromatin.

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4
Q

Organelles and examples

A

Organelles are formed when two or more supramolecular assemblies come together. These include the nucleus, mitochondrial, Golgi apparatus and the endoplasmic reticulum

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5
Q

Amino acids add to form

A

Proteins

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6
Q

Nucleobases add to form

A

DNA or RNA

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7
Q

Simple carbohydrates add to form

A

Complex carbohydrates

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8
Q

Glycerol,fatty acids, hydrocarbons add to form

A

Lipids

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9
Q

Macromolecules

A

Organic biological molecules that are necessary for life

Normally composed of thousands of atoms or more, adding up to a large molecular mass

Made up of smaller units known as building blocks (or monomers) that are joined by covalent (chemically strong) bonds

All life is composed of mainly 4 macromolecules - polysaccharides, nucleic acids, proteins and lipids

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10
Q

What are the 4 macromolecules that all life is mainly composed of?

A

Polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates), nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), proteins and lipids (non-polymeric molecule)

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11
Q

What is a polymeric macromolecule and what ones of the 4 main macromolecules are polymeric?

A

Polymeric molecules are molecules that are created by polymerisation of building blocks.

Polymeric -Term used to describe examples of or relating to a polymer, or having properties of a polymer.

All polymeric except for lipids

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12
Q

What are the 4 levels of carbohydrates?

A

monosaccharides (simple carbohydrates a.k.a sugars)

disaccharides (simple carbohydrates a.k.a sugars)

Oligosaccharides (complex carbohydrates)

Polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates)

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13
Q

Monosaccharides

A

Single unit building block of carbohydrate

There are two groups…
Hexose monosaccharides - there are 6 carbons and they are the building blocks of higher order carbohydrates (longer, more complex carbohydrates)

Pentose monosaccharides - there are 5 carbines and they are usually part of a larger molecule (for example nucleic acids (DNA and RNA))

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14
Q

How to count carbons on monosaccharides

A

When counting carbons, identify the oxygen atom then count from the one after in a clockwise direction (the one with an oxygen atom does not count)

Also dont forget to look at for side chains

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15
Q

Common hexose monosaccharides

A

glucose, fructose and galactose

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16
Q

Common pentose monosaccharides

A

Deoxyribose (part of DNA nucleotide) and ribose (part of RNA nucleotide)

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17
Q

Disaccharides

A

Two monosaccharides joints together/double unit building block. You get different disaccharides depending on what 2 monosaccharides are joined together.

18
Q

Common disaccharides

A

Glucose + fructose = sucrose
Galactose + glucose = Lactose
Glucose + Glucose = Maltose

19
Q

Oligosaccharides

A

Several monosaccharides linked together (3-approx 10 linked together)

20
Q

Polysaccharides

A

Many monosaccharides linked together, approximately greater than 10 are linked. This is the most common type of carbohydrate we see

21
Q

Starch

A

Plant carbohydrate which consists of two components called amylose and amylopectin. Starch is effectively just monosaccharide of glucose linked in a particular way, that way being a branched structure AND linear structure (think about what the surface of a leaf looks like with the lines, some branching but simple pattern effectively)

22
Q

Glycogen

A

This is an animal carbohydrate. This carbohydrate consists of glucose molecules linked together in a more highly branched pattern

23
Q

Cellulose

A

This is a plant carbohydrate. This carbohydrate is not branched instead glucose monomers are arranged in long chains stack on top of one another and bonded together with hydrogen bones

24
Q

Carbohydrates are polymers of …

A

Monosaccharides

25
What are the 3 functions of carbohydrates?
Recognition Energy Structure
26
Function of carbohydrate - recognition
important for recognition with other cells Recognise viruses (kick starting the immune system), bacteria (that are not good for the body), recognise antibodies and combine other proteins
27
Function of carbohydrate - energy
Carbohydrates are in many foods but not all carbohydrates can be used as an energy sources From plants it is starch and from animals it is glycogen that can be used Each individual glucose molecule is released and then used by the mitochondria to produce energy for our cells
28
Function of carbohydrate - structure
Cellulose’s structure means that it can't be a food source as enzymes are unable to break it up Therefore cellulose is point in cell walls as it is very important for structure
29
Nucleic acids
Informational molecules - they tell your cells what to do, when to do it, when to stop/start, how much to do it etc. Includes deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid - both of these are polymers that are made of nucleotides (monomers/individual building blocks) Nucleic acids are polymers of nucleotides
30
Nucleotide
Single unit building blocks of nucleic acids Made up of a negatively charged phosphate group, a base and a ribose sugar The sugar is slightly different for RNA and DNA in terms of the ribose sugar. On DNA, we have an H atom only on the second carbon and on RNA, we have an OH group instead on the second carbon
31
Polynucleotides and the common bases
Many nucleotides joined together ``` Common bases … Thymine Adenine Cytosine Guanine Uracil (U in RNA instead of T) ```
32
Complimentary base pairing rule
A binds with T and C binds with G | in RNA all the Ts turn into Us
33
How are nucleotides connected?
Phosphate group of one nucleotide is connected to the sugar of the next nucleotide etc.
34
RNA versus DNA structure (basic)
RNA is a single polymer chain DNA consists of 2 polymeric chains that are twisted into a helix structure (it is a double stranded helix) For both the bases always point towards the middle
35
Proteins
They are a macromolecule Molecule by which cells perform their functions in the whole organism Proteins are polymers of amino acids i.e. amino acids are the building blocks Essentially the workers in your cell that make everything happen There are 20 different amino acids (building blocks) that can make up proteins (general formula H2N-CRH-COOH)
36
Protein biological functions
Structural - collagen (protein in skin and bones) Regulatory - insulin (peptide hormone) Contractile - myosin and actin (muscle proteins) Transport - Haemoglobin carries oxygen Storage - Egg white, seed proteins Protective - antibodies (immune proteins) Catalytic - hydrolytic in lysosomes Toxic - Botulinum toxin, diphtheria toxin
37
Lipids
Not polymers Hydrophobic (do not like water/ do not want to interact water) (all are hydrophobic) Heterogeneous (diverse in character/ there are many different types) Large, chunky and diversely shaped molecular structures Fat does not mean lipid, fats are a type of lipid Any of a group of large hydrophobic biological molecules, including fats, phospholipids, and steroids, that mix poorly, if at all, with water.
38
Lipid examples
``` Triacylglycerols (“fats”) Steroids (sterols) Phospholipids Glycolipids Fat soluble vitamins ```
39
Three functions of lipids
structural, regulatory and energy
40
Lipid function - structural
Structural roles in animal cell membranes - cholesterol (ensures the right consistency) and phospholipids ( important for membrane)
41
Lipid function - regulatory
Regulatory hormones such as estrogen and testosterone (cholesterol can be used to make estrogen/ these hormones are dervied from cholesterol)
42
Lipid function - energy
Can provide energy. Lipids are in food, the type of lipid we use for energy is triacylglycerol.

cells (24 decks)

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