Podcast
Questions and Answers
What type of bond is formed during dehydration synthesis when creating a polypeptide?
What type of bond is formed during dehydration synthesis when creating a polypeptide?
Answer hidden
Which amino acid has a 'hydrogen atom' as its distinctive side chain?
Which amino acid has a 'hydrogen atom' as its distinctive side chain?
Answer hidden
Which type of chemical bond is characterized by the sharing of electrons between atoms?
Which type of chemical bond is characterized by the sharing of electrons between atoms?
Answer hidden
Which of the following is NOT a branched-chain amino acid?
Which of the following is NOT a branched-chain amino acid?
Answer hidden
In the context of chemical reactions within a cell, which term describes the process of breaking down larger molecules into smaller ones?
In the context of chemical reactions within a cell, which term describes the process of breaking down larger molecules into smaller ones?
Answer hidden
Which amino acid contains a thioether (SC) group?
Which amino acid contains a thioether (SC) group?
Answer hidden
Based on the provided information, which of the following is considered an inorganic compound?
Based on the provided information, which of the following is considered an inorganic compound?
Answer hidden
What is the approximate percentage by weight of proteins within an E.coli cell?
What is the approximate percentage by weight of proteins within an E.coli cell?
Answer hidden
What is the primary level of protein structure directly determined by?
What is the primary level of protein structure directly determined by?
Answer hidden
Which group is NOT present in the side chain of Lysine?
Which group is NOT present in the side chain of Lysine?
Answer hidden
Which of the following organic molecules is primarily responsible for carrying genetic information?
Which of the following organic molecules is primarily responsible for carrying genetic information?
Answer hidden
Which amino acid contains a cyclic structure as part of its side chain?
Which amino acid contains a cyclic structure as part of its side chain?
Answer hidden
Which of the following best describes the composition of carbohydrates?
Which of the following best describes the composition of carbohydrates?
Answer hidden
Which amino acid contains a heterocyclic structure?
Which amino acid contains a heterocyclic structure?
Answer hidden
Which level of protein structure involves the interaction of multiple polypeptide chains?
Which level of protein structure involves the interaction of multiple polypeptide chains?
Answer hidden
Which of the following is a type of monosaccharide?
Which of the following is a type of monosaccharide?
Answer hidden
What occurs when a protein loses its shape and function due to a hostile environment?
What occurs when a protein loses its shape and function due to a hostile environment?
Answer hidden
In an E.coli cell, which RNA type has the highest number of molecules per cell?
In an E.coli cell, which RNA type has the highest number of molecules per cell?
Answer hidden
Which of the following is NOT a component of a nucleotide?
Which of the following is NOT a component of a nucleotide?
Answer hidden
In DNA, which base does adenine pair with?
In DNA, which base does adenine pair with?
Answer hidden
Which of the following is a key difference between DNA and RNA?
Which of the following is a key difference between DNA and RNA?
Answer hidden
What type of molecule stores the chemical energy released by some chemical reactions?
What type of molecule stores the chemical energy released by some chemical reactions?
Answer hidden
Which of these protein structures is characterized by alpha-helices and beta-pleated sheets?
Which of these protein structures is characterized by alpha-helices and beta-pleated sheets?
Answer hidden
Which of the following is considered an unstable molecule compared to the others?
Which of the following is considered an unstable molecule compared to the others?
Answer hidden
Which of the following is NOT a function of polysaccharides in biological systems?
Which of the following is NOT a function of polysaccharides in biological systems?
Answer hidden
What type of bond links monosaccharides together to form a polysaccharide?
What type of bond links monosaccharides together to form a polysaccharide?
Answer hidden
Which of the following best describes the major difference between saturated and unsaturated fats?
Which of the following best describes the major difference between saturated and unsaturated fats?
Answer hidden
What structural characteristic makes a phospholipid different from a simple lipid (triglyceride)?
What structural characteristic makes a phospholipid different from a simple lipid (triglyceride)?
Answer hidden
Which of the following best describes the bonding between amino acids in a protein?
Which of the following best describes the bonding between amino acids in a protein?
Answer hidden
Which of these is a key characteristic of lipids, making them distinct from carbohydrates and proteins?
Which of these is a key characteristic of lipids, making them distinct from carbohydrates and proteins?
Answer hidden
Steroids are characterized by which of the following structural features?
Steroids are characterized by which of the following structural features?
Answer hidden
Which of the following is NOT a typical function of proteins in bacterial cells?
Which of the following is NOT a typical function of proteins in bacterial cells?
Answer hidden
Study Notes
Microbiology Lecture 3: Chemical Principles and Biochem
- This lecture covers chemical principles and biochemistry relevant to microbiology.
- Chapter 2 of the Microbiology textbook (pages 25-35) provides a review of chemical principles.
- This review is useful background information for understanding the chemical basis of biological processes.
- Atoms are the fundamental building blocks of matter.
- Chemical elements are substances composed of atoms of a single type.
- Chemical bonds hold atoms together in molecules. These include ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and hydrogen bonds.
- Chemical reactions involve the breaking and forming of chemical bonds. These reactions can be synthesis (anabolism) or decomposition (catabolism) reactions.
- Important inorganic compounds in cells include water, acids, bases, and salts.
- Organic compounds contain carbon and hydrogen; this is in contrast to inorganic compounds which typically lack carbon. Examples of organic compounds include carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
Important Biological Molecules
- Organic compounds: contain both carbon and hydrogen
- CO2 is usually categorized as inorganic, even though it contains carbon.
- Inorganic compounds typically lack carbon.
Bacterial Cell
- Students will learn about the macromolecules necessary for building a bacterial cell.
- The lecture discusses the cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, and genetic material of a bacterial cell
- The specific organic macromolecules involved in bacterial cell structure and function are further explored.
- The difference is highlighted between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells through understanding the organic macromolecules that compose them.
Composition of an E. coli Cell
- This table provides data on the composition of an E. coli cell by weight percentage, average molecular weight, and number per cell for each of various components.
- Water is the most abundant component (70% by weight).
- Proteins comprise 15% of the cell by weight.
- Nucleic acids, including DNA and RNA types, make up about 1% of the cell weight, on average
Carbohydrates
- Carbohydrates are important for structural support and energy storage.
- Carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The general formula is (CH₂O)n.
- Monosaccharides are the simplest carbohydrates. These include hexoses (e.g., glucose and fructose) and pentoses.
- Glucose is a common hexose.
- Disaccharides are formed when two monosaccharides combine through dehydration synthesis
- Hydrolysis is the breakdown of disaccharides.
- Oligosaccharides contain 2 to 20 monosaccharides.
- Polysaccharides contain tens or hundreds of monosaccharides linked together.
- Examples include starch, glycogen, dextran, and cellulose
- Chitin is a polymer of two repeating sugars.
- Polysaccharides have a variety of functions, such as energy storage (starch and glycogen) and structural support (cellulose, chitin, peptidoglycan).
Functions of Polysaccharides
- Storage molecules: starch and glycogen
- Structural molecules: cellulose, chitin, peptidoglycans (murein)
- Lubrication: hyaluronic acid (component of extracellular matrix)
Lipids
- Lipids are primary components of cell membranes.
- Lipids are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
- Lipids serve as fuel storage in fat tissue.
- Lipids include vitamins and hormones.
- Lipids are "nonpolar" and insoluble in water.
Simple Lipids
- Called fats or triglycerides
- Contain glycerol and fatty acids
- Formed by dehydration synthesis
- Types of fatty acids: saturated and unsaturated
- Saturated fats have no double bonds in their fatty acids;
- Unsaturated fats have one or more double bonds in their fatty acids and can be cis or trans isomers.
Complex Lipids
- Contain C, H, O, P, N, or S
- Cell membranes are predominantly made of phospholipids.
- Phospholipids have a polar (hydrophilic) head and nonpolar (hydrophobic) tails.
- The structure and properties of phospholipids are important for their role in membranes.
Steroids
- Consist of four fused carbon rings.
- Function as components of cell membranes.
Proteins
- Proteins are made up of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds.
- Amino acids contain an amino group (-NH₂), a carboxyl group (-COOH), and a side chain (R group).
- There are 20 different amino acids.
- Proteins exist as linear polymers.
- Proteins can have different conformations (native shapes)
- Proteins have diverse roles in cells; including structural components, enzymes, and transport proteins.
- Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions in cells.
- Some bacterial toxins are also proteins.
- Protein structure is described through the concepts of primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure levels.
Levels of Protein Structure
- Primary structure: linear sequence of amino acids
- Secondary structure: localized folding (alpha helices and beta sheets)
- Tertiary structure: overall 3D shape of a polypeptide chain
- Quaternary structure: interactions between multiple polypeptide chains.
- Protein denaturation describes the loss of the secondary and tertiary structures due to factors like changes in temperature or pH.
Conjugated Proteins
- Conjugated proteins are composed of amino acids and additional organic molecules.
- Examples include glycoproteins, nucleoproteins, and lipoproteins.
Nucleic Acids
- Mononucleotides (eg., AMP, ADP, ATP) function as energy sources and enzyme cofactors (e.g., NAD & FAD).
- Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) are essential for genetic information.
- DNA is the genetic material
- RNA has multiple roles (structural, enzymatic, informational).
- Nucleic acids contain nucleotides, pentose sugars, phosphate groups, and nitrogen-containing bases.
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)
- DNA is a double helix.
- DNA has deoxyribose sugar.
- DNA has A (adenine), T (thymine), G (guanine), and C (cytosine) bases
- The order of the bases carries genetic information.
RNA (Ribonucleic acid)
- RNA is typically single-stranded.
- RNA has ribose sugar.
- RNA has A (adenine), U (uracil), G (guanine), and C (cytosine) bases
- RNA has various roles in the cell.
ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)
- ATP stores chemical energy.
- ATP releases energy when phosphate groups are removed through hydrolysis.
- ATP is made via dehydration synthesis.
- Essential for cellular processes.
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Related Documents
Description
This lecture focuses on the essential chemical principles and biochemistry pertinent to microbiology. Chapter 2 of the Microbiology textbook provides critical insights into atoms, chemical bonds, and reactions, offering a foundation for understanding biological processes. Learn about the significance of both inorganic and organic compounds within cellular contexts.
