Biochemistry
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Biochemistry |
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Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of
Much of biochemistry deals with the structures, bonding, functions, and interactions of biological
History
At its most comprehensive definition, biochemistry can be seen as a study of the components and composition of living things and how they come together to become life. In this sense, the history of biochemistry may therefore go back as far as the
The term "biochemistry" was first used when Vinzenz Kletzinsky (1826–1882) had his "Compendium der Biochemie" printed in Vienna in 1858; it derived from a combination of
It was once generally believed that life and its materials had some essential property or substance (often referred to as the "
Another significant historic event in biochemistry is the discovery of the
Starting materials: the chemical elements of life
Around two dozen
Just six elements—carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, calcium and phosphorus—make up almost 99% of the mass of living cells, including those in the human body (see composition of the human body for a complete list). In addition to the six major elements that compose most of the human body, humans require smaller amounts of possibly 18 more.[35]
Biomolecules
The 4 main classes of molecules in biochemistry (often called biomolecules) are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.[36] Many biological molecules are polymers: in this terminology, monomers are relatively small macromolecules that are linked together to create large macromolecules known as polymers. When monomers are linked together to synthesize a biological polymer, they undergo a process called dehydration synthesis. Different macromolecules can assemble in larger complexes, often needed for biological activity.
Carbohydrates
Two of the main functions of carbohydrates are energy storage and providing structure. One of the common sugars known as glucose is a carbohydrate, but not all carbohydrates are sugars. There are more carbohydrates on Earth than any other known type of biomolecule; they are used to store energy and genetic information, as well as play important roles in cell to cell interactions and communications.[citation needed]
The simplest type of carbohydrate is a
In these cyclic forms, the ring usually has 5 or 6 atoms. These forms are called
Two monosaccharides can be joined by a
When a few (around three to six) monosaccharides are joined, it is called an oligosaccharide (oligo- meaning "few"). These molecules tend to be used as markers and signals, as well as having some other uses.[39] Many monosaccharides joined form a polysaccharide. They can be joined in one long linear chain, or they may be branched. Two of the most common polysaccharides are cellulose and glycogen, both consisting of repeating glucose monomers. Cellulose is an important structural component of plant's cell walls and glycogen is used as a form of energy storage in animals.
Lipids
Lipids are usually made from one molecule of glycerol combined with other molecules. In triglycerides, the main group of bulk lipids, there is one molecule of glycerol and three fatty acids. Fatty acids are considered the monomer in that case, and may be saturated (no double bonds in the carbon chain) or unsaturated (one or more double bonds in the carbon chain).[citation needed]
Most lipids have some
Lipids are an integral part of our daily diet. Most
Proteins
Proteins can have structural and/or functional roles. For instance, movements of the proteins
The
The structure of proteins is traditionally described in a hierarchy of four levels. The
Ingested proteins are usually broken up into single amino acids or dipeptides in the
If the amino group is removed from an amino acid, it leaves behind a carbon skeleton called an α-keto acid. Enzymes called transaminases can easily transfer the amino group from one amino acid (making it an α-keto acid) to another α-keto acid (making it an amino acid). This is important in the biosynthesis of amino acids, as for many of the pathways, intermediates from other biochemical pathways are converted to the α-keto acid skeleton, and then an amino group is added, often via transamination. The amino acids may then be linked together to form a protein.
A similar process is used to break down proteins. It is first hydrolyzed into its component amino acids. Free
In order to determine whether two proteins are related, or in other words to decide whether they are homologous or not, scientists use sequence-comparison methods. Methods like sequence alignments and structural alignments are powerful tools that help scientists identify homologies between related molecules. The relevance of finding homologies among proteins goes beyond forming an evolutionary pattern of protein families. By finding how similar two protein sequences are, we acquire knowledge about their structure and therefore their function.
Nucleic acids
The most common nucleic acids are
Aside from the genetic material of the cell, nucleic acids often play a role as
Metabolism
Carbohydrates as energy source
Glucose is an energy source in most life forms. For instance, polysaccharides are broken down into their monomers by enzymes (glycogen phosphorylase removes glucose residues from glycogen, a polysaccharide). Disaccharides like lactose or sucrose are cleaved into their two component monosaccharides. [47]
Glycolysis (anaerobic)
Glucose is mainly metabolized by a very important ten-step
Aerobic
In
Gluconeogenesis
In
Relationship to other "molecular-scale" biological sciences
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Researchers in biochemistry use specific techniques native to biochemistry, but increasingly combine these with techniques and ideas developed in the fields of genetics, molecular biology, and biophysics. There is not a defined line between these disciplines. Biochemistry studies the chemistry required for biological activity of molecules, molecular biology studies their biological activity, genetics studies their heredity, which happens to be carried by their genome. This is shown in the following schematic that depicts one possible view of the relationships between the fields:
- Biochemistry is the study of the chemical substances and vital processes occurring in live organisms. Biochemists focus heavily on the role, function, and structure of biomolecules. The study of the chemistry behind biological processes and the synthesis of biologically active molecules are applications of biochemistry. Biochemistry studies life at the atomic and molecular level.
- Genetics is the study of the effect of genetic differences in organisms. This can often be inferred by the absence of a normal component (e.g. one gene). The study of "mutants" – organisms that lack one or more functional components with respect to the so-called "wild type" or normal phenotype. Genetic interactions (epistasis) can often confound simple interpretations of such "knockout" studies.
- Molecular biology is the study of molecular underpinnings of the biological phenomena, focusing on molecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms and interactions. The central dogma of molecular biology, where genetic material is transcribed into RNA and then translated into protein, despite being oversimplified, still provides a good starting point for understanding the field. This concept has been revised in light of emerging novel roles for RNA.
- drug molecules).
See also
Lists
- Important publications in biochemistry (chemistry)
- List of biochemistry topics
- List of biochemists
- List of biomolecules
See also
- Astrobiology
- Biochemistry (journal)
- Biological Chemistry (journal)
- Biophysics
- Chemical ecology
- Computational biomodeling
- Dedicated bio-based chemical
- EC number
- Hypothetical types of biochemistry
- International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Metabolome
- Metabolomics
- Molecular biology
- Molecular medicine
- Plant biochemistry
- Proteolysis
- Small molecule
- Structural biology
- TCA cycle
Notes
a.
References
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{{cite book}}
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Further reading
- Fruton, Joseph S. ISBN 0-300-07608-8
- Keith Roberts, Martin Raff, Bruce Alberts, Peter Walter, Julian Lewis and Alexander Johnson, Molecular Biology of the Cell
- 4th Edition, Routledge, March, 2002, hardcover, 1616 pp. ISBN 0-8153-3218-1
- 3rd Edition, Garland, 1994, ISBN 0-8153-1620-8
- 2nd Edition, Garland, 1989, ISBN 0-8240-3695-6
- 4th Edition, Routledge, March, 2002, hardcover, 1616 pp.
- Kohler, Robert. From Medical Chemistry to Biochemistry: The Making of a Biomedical Discipline. Cambridge University Press, 1982.
- Maggio, Lauren A.; Willinsky, John M.; Steinberg, Ryan M.; Mietchen, Daniel; Wass, Joseph L.; Dong, Ting (2017). "Wikipedia as a gateway to biomedical research: The relative distribution and use of citations in the English Wikipedia". PLOS ONE. 12 (12): e0190046. PMID 29267345.
External links
- "Biochemical Society".
- The Virtual Library of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology
- Biochemistry, 5th ed. Full text of Berg, Tymoczko, and Stryer, courtesy of NCBI.
- SystemsX.ch – The Swiss Initiative in Systems Biology
- Full text of Biochemistry by Kevin and Indira, an introductory biochemistry textbook.