WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY

FOUNDATION OF BIOCHEMISTRY, PROKARYOTES AND EUKARYOTES

○ Researches in biochemistry has impact on

INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY nutrition and preventive medicine
○ Most, if not all, (all disease) disease have
WHAT IS BIOCHEMSITRY? biochemical basis’
● All living organisms have common features that
they use to sustain life function WHAT ARE BIOMOLECULES?
○ They all use the same biomolecules
(molecules utilized by living organisms to Biomolecules
perpetuate life functions)
● Biochemistry studies the properties and
functions of these biomolecules
○ These molecules are still governed by chemical
and physical laws (even at a macroscopic
level the physical, and chemical phenomena
is the same with the physical and chemical
phenomena at a microscopic level), hence
basic knowledge in chemistry and physics is
important The higher education equivalent of this
knowledge is…..
WHY STUDY BIOCHEMISTRY? Simplified interpretation of biomolecules
● Biochemistry is a multidisciplinary subject that
answers questions about molecular nature of
life process
○ Understanding health, and disease at the
molecular level leads to more effective
treatment of illnesses (If you were able to
understand biochemistry, and biomolecules at
the molecular level then you would be able to
understand their functions, how would they
interact with other molecules)

● The inside of the cell is similar to the

transportation system of a city; there are ● Carbohydrates (Go foods)
roads, card, buses, and trucks
● These vehicles correspond to molecules
that are involved in a or a series of
reactions
● There are molecules that travel multiple
routes, whistle there are also others that
are specialized, being confined to single
pathways
● Importantly, routhes (or reactions) operate ○ Important for structural and
simultaneously inside the cell, they do not energy-storage purposes
wait for another reaction to take place
before occurring ● Amino acids and proteins

Why study biochemistry: an approach to

medicine
● Biochemistry is essential to all life
sciences
○ Biochemistry of nucleic acid lies at the
heart of genetics
○ Physiology and biochemistry overlaps ○ Major structural elements. Also
almost completely serve as transporters, catalysts,
○ Immunology uses techniques that are and hormones
derived from biochemical studies ● Lipids
■ E.g. blood typing = using of biochemical
interactions of the surface of rbc and the
necessary antigens that need to be
present so that coagulation will occur
○ Pharmacology and pharmacy rest on a
sound knowledge of biochemistry and
physiology
○ Normal biochemical processes are the
basis of health

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WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY

FOUNDATION OF BIOCHEMISTRY, PROKARYOTES AND EUKARYOTES

○ Fulfill a variety of roles: as Ionic Bonds

messengers, as fuel source. Key
component of cell membranes

● Nucleic acids

○ Stores the genetic code of

organisms, which are of critical
importance of life
● Also known as electrovalent bonds
WHAT MAKES BIOMOLECULES SPECIAL? (electrically charged)
Functional Groups ● Involves the transfer of electrons from
● These are specific groupings of atoms in one element to another resulting in a net
molecules that have their own characteristic difference in atomic charges
properties regardless of other atoms present ● The difference creates a strong
in the molecule electrostatic attraction between the two
○ They give specific properties such oppositely charged ions
as polarity and pH ● Compounds formed through this process are
known as ionic compounds

Covalent Bonds

● A chemical bond that involves the sharing

Note: that most of these functional groups contain of electron pairs between atoms
oxygen (O), and nitrogen (N) (electronegative (bonding pairs)
atoms). Since they are electronegative, the ● Results in a stable balance of attractive and
molecules become polar, and this polarity is crucial repulsive forces between atoms
in the molecules’ reactivity
Hydrogen Bonds
Chemical Bonds
● Is a lasting attraction between atoms, ions,
or molecules
● Without chemical bonds, no compounds will
be formed. In the absence of compounds,
no complex form of matter will be present
● A chemical bond may be a result of
electrostatic forces between opposite
charges or through sharing of electrons
● A special type of chemical bond unique to
polar molecules
● A weak electrostatic attraction between a
partially positively-charged hydrogen atom
of a molecule and an electronegative atom
of another molecule (Oxygen =
electronegative; partially negative |
Hydrogen = partially positive)

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WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY
FOUNDATION OF BIOCHEMISTRY, PROKARYOTES AND EUKARYOTES
● Relatively weak, but is responsible for many
physical properties of water including high
heat capacity, cohesive and adhesive
properties, and high surface tension
WHEN CAN ONE CONSIDER A THING AS A
LIVING BEING?
Biochemistry and the beginning of life
● Simple organic compounds assembled
into more complex coalitions that could
grow and reproduce (first life on earth)
● Elements and compounds essential to life
include:
○ Hydrogen
○ Methane
○ Nitrogen
○ Carbon Dioxide
○ Phosphate
○ Ammonia
● In order for these elements and
compounds to co-mingle and react to
each other they need water; and in order
to grow and reproduce all life needs a
source of energy
● Autotroph - generates their own energy
(eg. plants)
● Heterotroph - consumes other organisms
for energy (eg. animals)
● Hydrothermal vents - a fissure in the
earth’s crust where seawater seeps into
magma chambers, and is ejected back
out at high temperatures with minerals
and simple compounds
○ Black smokers - release acidic
CO2 rich water heated to
hundreds of degree celsius
packed with: sulfur, iron, copper,
and other metals essential to life
(too hot for LUCA)
○ White smokers - seawater
expelled is highly alkaline and
lacks CO2 but is rich in methane
and offers more hospitable
temperatures (Lost city = most
favoured for the cradle of life)
● LUCA - last universal common ancestor
○ Farthest we could trace
WHAT ARE THE SET OF CHARACTERISTICS
THAT LIVING ORGANISMS EXHIBIT?
Properties of Life
● High degree of chemical complexity and
microscopic organization
○ Each has its characteristic sequence of
subunits
● Can extract and transform energy
○ Enabling organisms to build and
maintain their intricate structures and to
do chemical, osmotic, and electrical
work
● Can replicate and maintain itself
● Can respond to stimulus
○ Constantly adjusting to changes by
adapting their internal chemistry
● Has a defined functions of its parts
● Has a history of evolution
Cells - the basic unit of life
Why are they small?
● The size of the molecules that compose it is
relatively small
○ Cells always have the minimum number
of biomolecules required to function
● The rate of diffusion of molecules must be
fast
○ Surface-to-volume ratio must be optimal
to avoid long time diffusion
○ Diffusion = movement of molecules
across a gradient
Prokaryotes and Eukaryotesf
● All cells contain DNA. The total DNA of a
cell is called a genome. Individual units of
heredity controlling individual traits coding
for a specific protein or RNA is called a
gene
● The earliest cell must have been simple,
having only the minimum apparatus needed
to sustain life functions
○ Living things resemble these earliest cell
are known as prokaryotes
○ Include bacteria and cyanobacteria
○ Single-celled, but can form colonies with
some simple differentiation
● As these simple organisms evolved, they
became more advanced and the apparatus
they need became more specific and
complex
○ Living things that have membrane-bound
organelles are known as eukaryotes
○ Complex organisms that can be
single-celled or multicellular
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WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY
FOUNDATION OF BIOCHEMISTRY, PROKARYOTES AND EUKARYOTES
Prokaryotes vs eukaryotes
Organelles of the eukaryotes
Classification of cells based on metabolic
activities
● Phototrophs - use energy from the sun
○ Photoautotroph (eg. plant)
○ Photoheterotrophs (eg. green
non-sulfur bacteria)
● Chemotrophs - use energy from chemical
compounds
○ Chemoautotroph (eg.
sulfur-oxidizing bacteria)
○ Chemoheterotroph (eg. animals)
● Autotroph - uses CO2
● Heterotrophs - do not use CO2
Organisms can be classified according to their
source of energy (sunlight or oxidizable chemical
compounds) and their source of carbon for the
synthesis of of cellular material)
Prokaryote metabolic processes
● Prokaryotes have a diverse way of taking
energy from the environment: a different
way from how humans do
● While animals feed on other living
organisms to get energy, and plants rely on
the sun, prokaryotes rely on multiple ways to
metabolize food
● Prokaryotes utilize the following processes
to sustain life processes:
○ Aerobic and anaerobic
respiration
■ Obligate aerobes need oxygen to
live; obligate anaerobes need the
absence of oxygen to live
■ Facultative aerobes can live with
oxygen but can resort to anaerobic
respiration if it is absent.
○ Sulfur metabolism
■ Bacteria that rely on this are the
“producers” in deep-sea
ecosystems
○ Nitrogen metabolism
■ Rely on nitrogen-based
compounds such as ammonia and
nitrite; important in agriculture
Eukaryotic metabolic process
● Eukaryotes utilize the following processes to
sustain life processes:
○ Aerobic and anaerobic
respiration
■ Almost all eukaryotes are reliant
on oxygen, while there are
certain eukaryotes that are
considered facultative anaerobes
○ Photosynthesis
■ Plants and protozoa that contain
chlorophyll rely on the energy
from the sun to generate energy
—END—
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WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY

FOUNDATION OF BIOCHEMISTRY, PROKARYOTES AND EUKARYOTES

1. These are molecules that are

mainly used by living
organisms to perpetuate their
life functions._biomolecules
2. Which of the following
analogies is/are correct? Select
the choice that best answers the
question._
3. Which of the following
functional group contains a
carbonyl group at the end of the
carbon chain?_

4. A molecular bond that involves

the electrostatic attraction
between atoms which is a result
of loss/gain of electrons._ionic
bonding
5. Which of the following
analogies is/are correct? Select
the choice that best answers the
question._