BIOL1130 Final: BIOL1130 EXAM (1)
5 Jun 2018
School
Course
Professor
BIOL1130 CHELSEA GRAY
Molecules of Life:
• Life on Earth has a chemical signature, the study of which is a frontier of research in biology
• Earth is a living system
• A look at life at the molecular level
What are biomolecules (The molecules of life)?
• Organic molecules
• Macro molecules
• Carbs
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic acids
• The cell is the fundamental unit of life
Astrobiology & The Gaia Hypothesis
• Elements of Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sulphur
• The biosphere
• The biosignature
Heritability:
• Information storage
• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
Organic Chemistry:
• Molecules are generally represented in an organic chemistry format
• The carbon chain is represented with branching hydrogen atoms and other
chemical groups to make the molecule
• E.g. C6H12O6
Biomolecules (Organic Molecules):
• Biomolecules are the chemical constituents of life
• Most biomolecules have a carbon framework
• If a molecule contains carbon, it is said to be organic
• Some exceptions to this organic theory are molecules such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), these are
carbon-based molecules but are not biomolecules
• Four main types of biomolecules (or building blocks) are:
o Sugars
o Fatty acids
o Amino acids
o Nucleotides
• These molecules have distinct structural characteristics and elemental composition
• These are substrates for enzyme reactions
• Sources of chemical energy
• Building blocks of larger molecules called macromolecules
• If the macromolecule is built up of repeating units, it is called a polymer
• Polymer examples are polysaccharides (from sugars), proteins (from amino acids) and nucleic acids (from
nucleotides)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
BIOL1130 CHELSEA GRAY
Polysaccharides:
Bacteria:
• Capsules are formed from complex
polysaccharides
• Glycogen or levan are storage polysaccharides
Plants:
• Cell walls are composed of cellulose and pectins
• Starch is a storage form
Insects and Fungi:
• Exoskeletons and cell walls respectively contain
chitin
Lipids:
• Lipids are biomolecules that can be extracted from biological material
using carbon-based liquids such as hexane or ether, but not water
• The common elements of lipids are C, H, O and complex lipids can also
include N, P
Phospholipids:
• Components of cell membranes
Waxes:
• Coat surfaces of plants and the skin of animals to prevent water loss
Complex Lipids:
• Signalling molecules, photoreceptors, hormones, pigments and vitamins
Proteins:
• Proteins are polymers of amino acids
• There are 20 common amino acids but additional and rarer amino acids
are also important
• Proteins have the most diverse functions of any biomolecules
• Universal components of cellular structures
• Most enzymes are proteins
• Protein functions include:
o Hormones
o Defence molecules
o Signalling molecules
• Proteins are the functional product of genes, produced by gene
expression
• The common elements
are C, H, O, N, S
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
BIOL1130 CHELSEA GRAY
Nucleic Acids:
• The storage form of heritable (genetic) information of Earth-based life
• Their building blocks (nucleotides) store energy and the form of nucleic acid
known as RNA can also be an enzyme
• A structural molecule and the decoding
intermediate in the expression of genetic
information
• DNA forms chromosomes in all prokaryotic cells
and in nuclei, mitochondrial and chloroplast
organelles of eukaryotes
• The common elements are C, H, O, N, P
Astrobiology & the Gaia Hypothesis:
• The terrestrial biosphere is a bio shell about
10km thick
•
How molecules are illustrated: organic chemistry (carbon chains)
→
ch. 1 to review
• Simple sugars
What is an organic molecule?
• Contains carbon
• Some organic molecules are not biomolecules (Carbon dioxide and methane)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Life on earth has a chemical signature, the study of which is a frontier of research in biology: earth is a living system, a look at life at the molecular level. What are biomolecules (the molecules of life): organic molecules, macro molecules, carbs. Lipids: proteins, nucleic acids, the cell is the fundamental unit of life. Astrobiology & the gaia hypothesis: elements of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur, the biosphere, the biosignature. Organic chemistry: molecules are generally represented in an organic chemistry format, the carbon chain is represented with branching hydrogen atoms and other chemical groups to make the molecule, e. g. Biomolecules (organic molecules): biomolecules are the chemical constituents of life, most biomolecules have a carbon framework. If a molecule contains carbon, it is said to be organic. Some exceptions to this organic theory are molecules such as carbon dioxide (co2) and methane (ch4), these are carbon-based molecules but are not biomolecules.
