Carbon in Cells

Chapter 3 - Carbon Compounds in Cells

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On-Line Biology Book by M. J. Farabee
1. Organic Molecules
Kimball's Biology Pages
1. CARBOHYDRATES
  1. Carbohydrates from Kimball's Biology Pages
2. LIPIDS
  1. Fats from Kimball's Biology Pages
  2. Phospholipids from Kimball's Biology Pages
  3. Cholesterol from Kimball's Biology Pages
3. PROTEINS
  1. Amino acids from Kimball's Biology Pages
  2. Polypeptides from Kimball's Biology Pages
  3. Proteins from Kimball's Biology Pages
  4. Rules of Protein Structure from Kimball's Biology Pages
    1. primary
    2. secondary
    3. tertiary
    4. quaternary
  5. Enzymes from Kimball's Biology Pages
  6. Collagens from Kimball's Biology Pages
4. NUCLEIC ACIDS
  1. Nucleotides from Kimball's Biology Pages
  2. ATP from Kimball's Biology Pages
  3. DNA-the Double Helix from Kimball's Biology Pages
1. The Biology Project an interactive online resource for learning biology, developed at The University of Arizona
  1. Introduction to Organic Molecules
  2. Large Molecule problem set
2. MIT Biology Hypertext Chemistry Review
  1. Basic Organic Functional Groups
  2. Large Molecules Chapter Directory
Chapter Outline

3.0 -- Carbon, Carbon, in the Sky
1. Conifers, carbon dioxide, and early breaking of dormancy (Figure 3.1)
2. Carbon permeates the entire world of life
3. Summary of the Main Organic Compounds In Living Things (Table 3.1, p. 50)
3.1 -- PROPERTIES OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
1. The Molecules of Life
  1. Only living cells can synthesize carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
  2. Organic Compounds
2. Carbon's Bonding Behavior
  1. Carbon can bond covalently with up to four other atoms
  2. Carbon backbone
  3. chains, branching chains, rings
3. Functional Groups
  1. hydrocarbons
  2. functional group(s) [Fig. 3.2]
    1. Affect molecule properties, such as solubility and pH
    2. hydrophobic - nonpolar
    3. hydrophilic - polar: dissolves in water
4. How Do Cells Build Organic Compounds?
  1. monomers: simple sugars, fatty acids, amino acids, nucleotides
  2. Large Organic Molecules [Table 3.1]
  3. macromolecules: polymers composed of monomers
  4. Condensation: dehydration synthesis [fig 3.4a] mediated by enzymes
  5. Cleavage: Hydrolysis [fig 3.4b]: requires water plus enzyme
3.2 -- CARBOHYDRATES
1. Simple Sugars-- Monosaccharides
  1. soluble in water, sweet taste, and several -OH groups.
  2. Pentoses: Ribose and deoxyribose: building blocks for nucleic acids.
  3. Hexoses: Glucose and fructose [fig. 3.5] building blocks for larger carbohydrates.
  4. glycerol and vitamin C.
2. Short-Chain Carbohydrates--oligosaccharides
  1. Disaccharides-two sugar units-are the simplest.
    1. Lactose (glucose + galactose)
    2. Sucrose (glucose + fructose)
    3. Maltose.
3. Complex Carbohydrates--polysaccharides
  1. Starch [3.6b, 3.7b]
  2. Cellulose [3.6a, 3.7a]
  3. Glycogen [3.6c]
  4. 5. Chitin [3.8]
3.3 -- LIPIDS
1. Properties
2. Fats and Fatty Acids [fig 3.9a]
  1. essential fatty acids: linoleic and linolenic acids
  2. saturated fatty acids
  3. unsaturated fatty acids
  4. glycerol
3. neutral fats - fats and oils
  1. triglicerides: 3 fatty acids and glycerol [fig. 3-19b]
  2. efficient storage of energy [fig 3.10] .
4. phospholipids [fig. 3.11a] - constituents of cell membranes
  1. hydrophobic - fatty acid portion, not water soluble
  2. hydrophilic - glycerol plus organic base (phosphate and N containing organic compound);
5. sterols - carbon atoms arranged in four interlocking rings plus a functional group.
  1. cholesterol [Fig. 3.11b, c] is a component of animal cell membranes and a precursor to sex and certain metabolic (e.g. aldesterone) hormones, also bile salts, vitamin D
6. waxes [fig 3.11d, e] - long chain fatty acid plus a long chain alcohol.
3.4 -- AMINO ACIDS and PROTEINS
1. Properties
2. Amino acids [fig. 3.13, 3.14]
  1. 20 common kinds
3. LEVELS OF PROTEIN STRUCTURE
  1. peptide bonds
  2. dipeptide
  3. polypeptide
  4. primary structure [fig. 3.16]
  5. Protein Structure and Function: shape, distribution of charge
3.5 HOW DOES A THREE-DIMENSIONAL PROTEIN EMERGE
1. secondary structure [fig. 3.17] alpha helix, beta sheet
2. tertiary structure [fig. 3.18a]
3. quaternary structure
  1. Globular proteins [fig. 3-18b]
  2. Fibrous proteins: e.g., keratin [fig 3.19]
4. glycoproteins
5. lipoproteins
6. Denaturation of Proteins
3.6 Focus on the Environment: Food Production and a Chemical Arms Race

3.7 NUCLEOTIDES
1. components
  1. 5 carbon sugar: ribose or deoxyribose
  2. phosphate group
  3. nitrogenous base
    1. purine: single ring - cytosine, thymine, or uracil
    2. pyrimidine: double ring - adenine or guanine
2. ATP - adenosine triphosphate: stores and releases chemical energy in cells [fig. 3.21a]
3. cyclic AMP: chemical messenger
4. Coenzymes:
  1. NAD+ [fig. 3.21]: primary electron and hydrogen acceptor and donor
  2. FAD
3.8 - -NUCLEIC ACIDS: DNA and RNA
1. Friedrich Meischer
2. DNA -- deoxyribonucleic acid [fig. 3.22]
  1. carries the genetic code
  2. makes RNA.
  3. double stranded
  4. A = T; G = C
3. RNA -- ribonucleic acid
  1. carries instructions for protein synthesis
  2. single stranded
  3. A, U, G, C
KEY TERMS FOR CHAPTER 3

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Chapter 3 - Carbon Compounds in Cells

3.1 -- PROPERTIES OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS

3.2 -- CARBOHYDRATES

3.3 -- LIPIDS

3.4 -- AMINO ACIDS and PROTEINS

3.5 HOW DOES A THREE-DIMENSIONAL PROTEIN EMERGE

3.6 Focus on the Environment: Food Production and a Chemical Arms Race

3.7 NUCLEOTIDES

3.8 - -NUCLEIC ACIDS: DNA and RNA