Lecture 2

Water and Macromolecules

Life on earth began in water

and evolved for 3 billion
years

all life remains tied to water

water is important for
chemical reactions
cells are 70-95% water

waters behavior depends on

its structure

Surface tension: a
measure of how
difficult it is to
break the surface
of water

Water has high

specific heat due
to H-bonds
Moderation of
temperature by
water

Evaporative cooling
H-bonds have to
be broken before
liquid water turns
into vapor

water in 2 states:
ice floats

biological
significance?

the solvent of life

Large molecules:

contain C, H, O
Include:

Some sources of carbohydrates?

1. Monosaccharides

2. Disaccharides

Consist of one subunit

Consist of two subunits

Glucose

Formed by a
dehydration
reaction

Chemical formula: C6H12O6

Sucrose

Polysaccharides
- consist of long chains of sugars
Examples:
Starch

Glucose
monomer

Glucose
monomer

Fructose
monomer

Glycogen
(a) Corn syrup
containing
fructose

(b) starch

(c) glycogen

Cellulose

Polysaccharides

not considered a nutrient why?

Function?

Glycoprotein
Outside
of cell

Inside
of cell

Glycoproteins (carbohydrates joined to proteins) are key

molecules in cell-cell recognition and cell-cell signaling

building blocks in the synthesis of other

molecules

nutrients: source of energy

polysaccharides: structure, support, protection

glycoproteins: cell identity

Made up of amino
acids

}
}
}
}

amino acids: have a

central carbon atom
that bonds to:
H2N (amino group)
COOH (carboxyl)
H
R (side group)

each protein has a unique structure that is

specific for its function
Fibrin

Keratin

Silk

is its unique linear

sequence of amino
acids

results from hydrogen bonding between the

carboxyl oxygen of one amino acid and the
amino hydrogen of another

Tertiary structure: determined

by interaction of R groups
Quaternary structure: 2 or
more polypeptides,
interaction between the
chains

important nutrients; foods contain protein

plant proteins are considered incomplete because
they generally lack one or more of the essential
amino acids

all are available in milk,

eggs, meat, but not in
all vegetables

can be combined to make them complete

(a) Lentils are high in lysine and low in valine.

(b) Rice is low in lysine and high in valine.

The side groups of

lysine and valine
are different.

Lysine

Valine

Lysine

Valine

form reflects function

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-Stanley

Prusiner: Nobel Prize

Scientists at the University of California, have

discovered that Multiple System Atrophy
(MSA), a rare Parkinsons disease-like
disorder is caused by a prion (Aug 31, 2015,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

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polymers of nucleotides that are each composed of

a phosphate group, a sugar, and a nitrogenous
base
provide direction for building proteins

- sugars
} ribose (RNA)
} deoxyribose (DNA)
- nitrogenous bases:
} purines
} pyrimidines

The two DNA strands are held together by weak

hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairs
A and T
C and G

If the sequence on one strand is

The others sequence must be

ATACGCAT
TATGCGTA

RNA uracil replaces thymine

is the use of information in DNA to direct the production

of proteins

occurs in two stages

Genotype produces a phenotype (physical

traits we see), that are the product of the
proteins produced (eg., different coat color)

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Genetic Code
Translation: converts the order of the nucleotides of a gene into the order of amino acids
in a protein
mRNAs are read in three-base sequences, termed codons (4 bases are UCAG)

= first base

= second base

= third base

shared by all organisms, suggesting it arose early in evolution

and passed on to all living organisms

The sequence of DNA can be altered:

Point mutations:
a single base change, can have 3 effects
1) Missense mutation
base substitution or replacement; changes one amino
acid for another
2) Nonsense mutation
change in base produces a stop codon (translation is
terminated prematurely and protein is shortened)

The sequence of DNA can be altered:

3) Silent mutation
change in base does not change the amino acid (as a
result of redundancy of code)
Frame-shift mutation
insertion or deletion alter the reading frame of the
genetic message

Mutations: can be neutral, beneficial, or deleterious

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Mutations:

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