BIOMOLECULES

SUBTOPICS

Proteins

Nucleic
Acids
 Objectives
• Categorize biological molecules (carbohydrates, lipids,
proteins, nucleic acids) according to their structure and
function(s).
•Explain the role of each molecule in specific metabolic
processes.
• Compare the energy and structural uses of different forms
of carbohydrates.
• Describe the different functions of lipids in cells.
• Describe the factors that affect protein structure and
function.
• Compare the structure and function of deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA)
 Important terms

• Proteins
• Amino Acids • Nucleic Acids
• Stryctural protein • Deoxyribonucleic acid
• Transport protein • Ribonucleic acid
• Enzymes • Pyrimidine
• Antibodies • Purine
• R group • Adenine
• peptide bond • Guanine
• essential amino acids • Thymine
• non-essential amino • Cytosine
acids • Uracil
• conditional amino acids • Adenosine triphosphate
PROTEINS

recognized as the most diverse

among the biomolecules.
are composed of chains of amino
acids.
is a biologically functional molecule
that consists of one or more
polypeptides
TYPES OF PROTEIN ACCORDING TO FUNCTION
TYPES OF PROTEIN ACCORDING TO FUNCTION
 AMINO ACIDS

are the monomers of proteins

contains an amino group,
carboxyl group and R-group
THREE GROUPS OF
AMINO ACIDS

❖ Essential amino acids - are those that cannot be

produced by our bodies

❖ Nonessential amino acids - are those that can be

produced by our bodies.

❖ Conditional amino acids - are not vital but may become

urgent during health crisis or stress
Amino Acid Polymer

Amino acids are linked by peptide bonds

A polypeptide is a polymer of amino acids
Polypeptides range in length from a few to
more than a thousand monomers
Each polypeptide has a unique linear sequence of
amino acids, with a carboxyl end (C-terminus) and
an amino end (N-terminus)
 SHAPES OF PROTEINS

PRIMARY STRUCTURE
SECONDARY STRUCTURE
TERTIARY STRUCTURE
QUATERNARY STRUCTURE
 PRIMARY STRUCTURE Amino
acids

▪ composed only of a linear

sequence of amino acids in a
peptide chain
 SECONDARY STRUCTURE

is a three-dimensional shape
created by several hydrogen
bonds
The first two patterns of the
secondary structure were first
predicted by Linus Pauling
and Robert Corey in 1951
❖ alpha (α) helix
❖ beta (β) pleated sheet
 TERTIARY STRUCTURE

▪ refers to the three-dimensional

shape of a peptide, which can
either be fibrous or globular in
structure
▪ determined by the interactions of
the side chains of the different
amino acids in the peptide
 QUATERNARY
STRUCTURE

happens when proteins have

more than one polypeptide
NUCLEIC ACIDS
are the largest molecules being
composed of several nucleotide
subunits
store vital information
allow genetic information to be
passed on from one generation to
the next.

TYPES:
❖ DNA
❖ RNA
 DNA

deoxyribonucleic acid
is a long molecule that contains
coded instructions for cellular
activities such as growth,
reproduction, death, and production
and acceptance of certain
substances.
 RNA

ribonucleic acid

TYPES:
▪ mRNA
▪ tRNA
▪ rRNA
COMPONENTS OF NUCLEIC
ACIDS

Each nucleotide consist of :

❑ nitrogenous base

❑ pentose sugar

❑ phosphate group
COMPONENTS OF NUCLEIC
ACIDS

– Pyrimidines (cytosine, thymine, and uracil) have

a single six-membered ring

– Purines (adenine and guanine) have a six-

membered ring fused to a five-membered ring
• The nitrogenous bases in DNA pair up and form hydrogen
bonds: adenine (A) always with thymine (T), and guanine (G)
always with cytosine (C)
• Called complementary base pairing
A-T , G-C
• In RNA, thymine is replaced by uracil (U) so A and U pair
A-U , G-C
END