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BIOCHEMISTRY

Key Questions for Chapter 1


Q: What are molecules?
Ans: Molecules are lifeless but in appropriate complexity they
compose living things. Actually molecules are composed of two or more
than two atoms. Molecules play a basic role in living organisms. In living
cells beside molecules we discuss Biomolecules.

Q: What is the structural organization of complex


biomolecules?
Ans: Examination of the chemical composition of cells reveals a
dazzling variety of organic compounds covering a wide range of
molecular dimensions .As this complexity is sorted out and
biomolecules are classified according to the similarities in size and
chemical properties, an organizational pattern emerges. The molecular
constituents of living matter do not reflect randomly the infinite
possibilities for combining C, H, O, and N atoms. The most prominent
aspect of bimolecular organization is that macromolecular structures
are constructed from simple molecules according to a hierarchy of
increasing structural complexity.

Q: What are the distinctive properties of living system?


Ans: Some extraordinary properties of a living system are given as
follows.

1. the most obvious quality of living organisms is that


they are Complicated and highly organized: For example,
organisms large enough to be seen with the naked eye are composed of
many cells, typically of many types. In turn, these cells possess
subcellular structures or organelles, which are complex assemblies of
very large polymeric molecules or macromolecules.

2. Biological structures serve functional purposes: That is,


biological structures have a role in terms of the Organisms existence.
From parts of organisms, such as Limbs and organs, down to the
chemical agents of Metabolism, such as enzymes and metabolic
intermediates, a biological purpose can be given for each component.

3. Living systems are actively engaged in energy


transformations: The maintenance of the highly organized
structure and activity of living systems depends upon their ability to
extract energy from the environment. The ultimate source of energy is
the sun. Solar energy flows from photosynthetic organisms

4. Living systems have a remarkable capacity for selfreplication: Generation after generation, organisms reproduce
virtually identical copies of themselves. This self-replication can
proceed by a variety of mechanisms, ranging from simple division in
bacteria to sexual reproduction in plants and animals.

Q: What kinds of molecules are biomolecules?


Ans:

A biomolecule is any molecule that is produced by a living


organism, including large macromolecules such as proteins,
polysaccharides, lipids, and nucleic acids, as well as small molecules
such as primary metabolites, secondary metabolites, and natural
products. A more general name for this class of molecules is biogenic
substances.
The following molecules are bio molecules.

1) Water: Being the universal solvent and major constituents (60%)


of any living body without which life is impossible. It acts as a media for
the physiological and biochemical reactions in the body itself. Maintain
the body in the required turgid condition.

2) Carbohydrates: It is very important for source of energy for any


physical body function.

3) Proteins: These are very important from body maintenance point


of view, helps in tissue, cell formation.

4) Lipids: These are very important from energy source as well as


human nutrition point of view.

5) Nucleic Acids: Nucleic acids are very important as DNA carries


the hereditary information and RNA helps in protein formation for the
body.

6) Enzymes: Enzymes are simple or combined proteins acting as


specific catalysts and activates the various biochemical and metabolic
processes within the body.

Q: How do the properties of biomolecules reflect their


fitness to the living condition?
Ans: Some attributes of biomolecules render them so fit as
components of growing, replicating systems, several biologically
relevant themes of structure and organization emerge. Prominent
among them is the necessity for information and energy in the
maintenance of the living state. Some biomolecules must have the
capacity to contain the information or recipe of life. Other
biomolecules must have the capacity to translate this information so
that the blueprint is transformed into the functional, organized
structures essential to life. Interactions between these structures are
the processes of life. An orderly mechanism for abstracting energy from
the environment must also exist in order to obtain the energy needed
to drive these processes.

Q: what are Macromolecules?


Ans: A macromolecule is a very large molecule commonly created by
polymerization of smaller subunits. In biochemistry, the term is applied
to the three conventional biopolymers as well as non-polymeric
molecules with large molecular mass such as lipids and macrocycles.
The individual constituent molecules of polymeric macromolecules are
called monomers. Interactions among macromolecules lead to the next
level of structural organization, supramolecular complexes.

Q: What is the organization and structure of cell?


Ans: All living cells fall into one of two broad categoriesprokaryotic
and eukaryotic. The distinction is based on whether or not the cell has a
nucleus. Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms that lack nuclei and
other organelles; the word is derived from pro meaning prior to and
karyote meaning nucleus.In conventional biological classification
schemes, prokaryotes are grouped together as members of the
kingdom Monera, represented by bacteria and cyanobacteria. The
other four living kingdoms are all eukaryotesthe single-celled Protists,
such as amoebae, and all multicellular life forms, including the Fungi,
Plant, and Animal kingdoms. Eukaryotic cells have true nuclei and other
organelles such as mitochondria, with the prefix eu meaning true.

Q: What are viruses?


Ans: A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the
living cells of other organisms. Viruses are supramolecular complexes of
nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA, encapsulated in a protein coat and, in
some instances, surrounded by a membrane envelope .The bits of
nucleic acid in viruses are, in reality, mobile elements of genetic
information. The protein coat serves to protect the nucleic acid and
allows it to gain entry to the cells that are its specific hosts. Viruses
unique for all types of cells are known. Viruses infecting bacteria are
called bacteriophages .Once the nucleic acid of a virus gains access to
its specific host, it typically takes over the metabolic machinery of the
host cell, diverting it to the production of virus particles. The host
metabolic functions are subjugated to the synthesis of viral nucleic acid
and proteins. Mature virus particles arise by encapsulating the nucleic
acid within a protein coat called the capsid. Viruses are thus
supramolecular assemblies that act as parasites of cells.

Q: What are metabolites?


Ans: Metabolites are the intermediates and products of metabolism. A
term metabolite is usually restricted to small molecules. Metabolites
have various functions, including fuel, structure, and signaling,
stimulatory and inhibitory effects on enzymes, catalytic activity of their
own (usually as a cofactor to an enzyme), defense, and interactions
with other organisms (e.g. pigments, odorants, and pheromones). A
primary metabolite is directly involved in normal "growth",
development, and reproduction. C2h4 is an example of a primary
metabolite produced in large-scale by industrial microbiology. A
secondary metabolite is not directly involved in those processes, but
usually has an important ecological function. Examples include
antibiotics and pigments such as resins and terpenes etc.

Q: How biomolecules are carbon compounds?


Ans: All biomolecules contain carbon. The prevalence of C is due to its
unparalleled versatility in forming stable covalent bonds by electronpair sharing. Carbon can form as many as four such bonds by sharing
each of the four Electrons in its outer shell with electrons contributed
by other atoms. Atoms commonly found in covalent linkage to C are C
itself, H, O, and N. Hydrogen can form one such bond by contributing its
single electron to formation of an electron pair. Oxygen, with two
unpaired electrons in its outer shell, can participate in two covalent
bonds, and nitrogen, which has three unshared electrons, can form
three such covalent bonds. Furthermore, C, N, and O can share two
electron pairs to form double bonds with one another within
biomolecules, a property that enhances their chemical versatility.
Carbon and nitrogen can even share three electron pairs to form triple
bonds.

Q: What are Organelles?


Ans: An organelle is a specialized subunit within a cell that has a
specific function, and it is usually separately enclosed within its own
lipid bilayer. The next higher rung in the hierarchical ladder is occupied
by the organelles, entities of considerable dimensions found only in
eukaryotic cells several kinds, such as mitochondria and chloroplasts,
evolved from bacteria.
Organelles share two attributes.
1: They are cellular inclusions usually membrane bounded.
2: Dedicated to important cellular tasks.
Organelles include the nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts,
endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and vacuoles as well as other
relatively small cellular inclusions, such as peroxisomes, lysosomes, and
chromoplasts.

Q: Explain supramolecular complexes?


Ans: Interactions among macromolecules lead to the next level of
structural organization, supramolecular complexes. Examples of these
supramolecular assemblies are multifunctional enzyme complexes,
ribosomes, chromosomes and cytoskeletal elements. Supramolecular
complexes have noncovalent forces including hydrogen bonds, ionic
attractions, Vander Waals forces, and hydrophobic interactions.

Q: Explain hydrophobic interactions?


Ans: The hydrophobic effect is the observed tendency of nonpolar
substances to aggregate in aqueous solution and exclude water
molecules and they fall, specifically under the title rubric when a
particular temperature dependence of the affinity of the polar small
molecule or moiety for the aqueous phase obtains. The part of the
name, hydrophobic, literally meaning "water-fearing," and it describes
the segregation and apparent repulsion between water and nonpolar
substances. The hydrophobic effect explains the separation of a
mixture of oil and water into its two components, and the beading of
water on nonpolar surfaces such as waxy leaves. At the molecular level,
the hydrophobic effect is important in driving protein folding,[3][4]
formation of lipid bilayers and micelles, insertion of membrane proteins
into the nonpolar lipid environment and protein-small molecule
interactions. Substances for which this effect is observed are known as
hydrophobes.

Q: Explain Membranes briefly?


Ans: A membrane is a selective barrier at times it is also an outer
covering of cell or cell organelle that allows the passage of certain
constituents and retains other constituents found in the liquid. The
influent of a membrane is known as the feed-stream, the liquid that
passes through the membrane is known as the permeate and the liquid
containing the retained constituents is the retentate or concentrate.
Membranes define the boundaries of cells and organelles. They are not
easily classified as supramolecular assemblies or organelles, although
they share the properties of both. Membranes resemble
supramolecular complexes in their construction because they are
complexes of proteins and lipids maintained by noncovalent forces.

Q: Describe the early evolution of cell?


Ans: The evolution of cells refers to the evolutionary origin and
subsequent evolutionary development of cells. Cells first emerged at
least 3.5 billion years ago. The origin of cells was the most important
step in the evolution of life on Earth. The birth of the cell marked the
passage from pre-biotic chemistry to partitioned units resembling
modern cells. The final transition to living entities that fulfill all the
definitions of modern cells depended on the ability to evolve effectively
by natural selection. Eukaryotes evolved from the simpler prokaryotes
in some linear progression from simple to complex Contemporary
evidence favors the view that present-day organisms are better
grouped into three classes or lineages: eukaryotes and two prokaryotic
groups, the eubacteria and the archaea (formerly designated as
archaebacteria.

Q: What is Progenate?
Ans: Progenate, is the most recent organism from which all organisms
now living on Earth descend. Thus it is the most recent common
ancestor (MRCA) of all current life on Earth. The LUA is estimated to
have lived some 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago (sometime in the
Paleoarcheanera. The earliest evidences for life on Earth are graphite
found to be biogenic in 3.7 billion-year-old Meta sedimentary rocks
discovered in Western Greenland and microbial mat fossils found in
3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia.

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