Basic Concepts in Biology

(as published in Lecture Notes on Biology by RM de la Paz, D.Sc.N., AA Herrera, Ph.D., EA

Amparado, Ph.D., and JB De Jesus, Ph.D.)

Photosynthesis
o The process of converting of sunlight energy to produce more usable forms of energy by chlorophyll molecules in plants. The necessary raw materials are carbon dioxide, and water with sunlight. The two end products are sugar molecules as stored form of energy, and oxygen.

DNA replication
o DNA synthesis starts at what we call the origins of replication. These specific nucleotide sequences are recognized by proteins as points of origin, and so the proteins attach to these points. The strands are then separated to open the DNA, and replication proceeds in both directions of the strands.

Protein synthesis
o After transcription, we proceed to translation where the information from RNA is converted to proteins beginning with an mRNA molecule binding to a small ribosomal subunit and an initiator tRNA locates and binds to a start codon. The ribosome now comes to the elongation phase where amino acids linked to tRNA, bind to the appropriate codon in mRNA which binds to the tRNA anticodon. The elongation of polypeptide continues until a stop codon finally signals the end of translation.

Biology of microorganisms
o Under the category of microorganisms are viruses, bacteria, unicellular algae, protozoans, and yeast, which are all unicellular except for viruses. These organisms have various ways of feeding themselves like parasitism, symbiosis, and free-living autotrophy and heterotrophy. Their reproduction is mostly through cell division.

Nutrient procurement in plants

o Macronutrients and micronutrients are vital for plant growth and development. Root possesses structural features that absorb water and minerals from the soil, and at the root surface is where water and minerals enter the root thru the symplast and the apoplast. Plant-microorganism association include the nodular root and the mycorrhiza, but parasitic plants infect other plants and derive their nuteients from the host plant.

Regulation and integration in plants

o In order to survive and be advantageous, plants follow a basic mechanism for communication/regulation: Perception to transduction to response. This communication in plants can be accomplished through plant hormones classified into auxins (tropic responses, cell enlargement/elongation,root formation), gibberellins (stem elongation, fruit development, seed germination), cytokinins (cell division&growth, lateral bud formation), ethylene (fruit ripening) and abscisic acid (inhibits stimulatory effects of other hormones, closes stomata). Plant responses can tropic, nastic and flowering responses, and tropisms as growth responses to environmental stimuli can be phototropism, geotropism, thigmotropism, chemotropism, and hydrotropism.

Reproduction and Development in plants

o Plants can undergo asexual reproduction using modified vegetative parts, cuttings and grafting, while sexual reproduction is through their flowers (consist of sepals, petals, stamen as male reproductive part, and pistil as female reproductive part) pollination which transfers pollen from the anther to the stigma (self-pollination is within the same flower, and cross-pollination involving two flowers). Double fertilization occurs when a sperm fuses with the egg (zygote) and another sperm fuses with the polar nuclei (endosperm) and afterwards becomes a fruit that protects the seed. The life cycle of the flowering plants involves the gametophytic stages which are very small (haploid egg and sperm) and highly dependent upon the sporophyte (roots, stems, leaves, and flowers).

Homeostasis o Homeostasis has been defined as the process of remaining stable

even in a changing environment. This is important for adjusting to different conditions. Homeostasis can be achieved through stability that even through constant change, a biological system can still have relatively uniform conditions.

Biology is vital in our society because it is the study of life processes itself, and that includes life within our communities. It is important to understand just how things work within our bodies, and among our plant and animal environment. If it werent for biology then we might not be able to understand how microorganisms affect us and how to create vaccines or medical responses for these. We need biology to know how to further propagate the plants and vegetables we eat daily. It is even thanks to biology that we dont get rid of all our plants because we understand that photosynthesis within plants allows for us to breathe our daily dose of oxygen. Biology is applied in our everyday endeavours, they just lack the recognition they deserve.