LESSON 4: The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules
LESSON 4: The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules
LESSON 4: The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules
Biological Molecules
∙ Within all cells, small organic molecules are joined together to form larger
molecules.
∙ All living things are made up of four main classes of macromolecules/
biomolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
∙ Biochemists have determined the detailed structures of many macromolecules,
which exhibit unique emergent properties arising from the orderly arrangement of
their atoms.
∙ The molecules that form the structure and carry out the activities of cells are huge,
highly organized molecules called macromolecules, which contain anywhere from
dozens to millions of carbon atoms.
∙ They are chemicals or molecules present in the living organisms. It determines
the cell’s function and how they participate in the processes necessary in
maintaining life.
∙ Living matter is composed mainly of six elements – Carbon, Hydrogen Oxygen,
Nitrogen, Sulfur and Phosphorus.
∙ Macromolecules can be divided into four major categories: proteins, nucleic
acids, polysaccharides, and certain lipids.
∙ Long chains of monomers (similar organic compounds) linked through
condensation reactions are called polymers. Large polymers such as
polysaccharides, proteins, and DNA are referred to as macromolecules. They can
be broken down by hydrolysis reactions. Example: Glucagon (polypeptide) is
composed of 29 amino acids (monomer).
4.2 CARBOHYDRATES
MONOSACCHARIDES
∙ Monosaccharides generally have molecular formulas that are some multiple of
the unit CH2O.
○ For example, glucose has the formula C6H12O6.
∙ Monosaccharides have a carbonyl group (>C=O) and multiple hydroxyl groups
(—OH).
○ Depending on the location of
the
carbonyl group, the sugar is
an
aldose (aldehyde sugar) or a
ketose (ketone sugar).
○ Most names for sugars end in
-
ose.
∙ Monosaccharides are also classified
by
the size of the carbon skeleton.
○ The carbon skeleton of a
sugar
ranges from three to seven
carbons long.
○ Glucose and other six-carbon
sugars are hexoses.
○ Five-carbon sugars are
pentoses;
three-carbon sugars are
trioses.
DISACCHARIDES
∙ A disaccharide (two sugars) contains two monosaccharide rings joined by a
glycosidic linkage, consisting of a central oxygen covalently bonded to two
carbons, one in each ring. Disaccharides serve primarily as readily available
energy stores. Common disaccharides include:
Maltose (malt sugar): 2 covalently linked α-glucose units
Sucrose (table sugar): 1 glucose + 1 fructose
Lactose (milk sugar): 1 glucose + 1 galactose
∙ Maltose (or malt sugar) is found in germinating grains (and other plants and
vegetables) and is generated during brewing of beer and related beverages. ∙
Sucrose, or table sugar, is a major component of plant sap, which carries
chemical energy from one part of the plant to another. Lactose, present in the
milk of most mammals, supplies newborn mammals with fuel for early growth
and development.
∙ Lactose in the diet is hydrolyzed by the enzyme lactase, which is present in the
plasma membranes of the cells that line the intestine. Many people lose this
enzyme after childhood and find that eating dairy products causes digestive
discomfort.
POLYSACCHARIDES
References:
Campbell, M., & Farrell, S., (2009). Chapter 16 – Carbohydrates – Biochemistry, Sixth
Edition
Reece, J. B., Urry, L.A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S.A., Jackson, R. B., Minorsky, P.V., &
Campbell, N. A., (2014). Chapter 5 – The Structure and Function of Large Biological
Molecules – Biology, Tenth Edition