Download Biochemistry Lit Exam Concepts Soluble/Membrane protein function

Biochemistry Lit Exam Concepts
Soluble/Membrane protein function: Be able to explain various biological functions of
non-enzyme proteins (e.g. muscle contraction, antibodies).
Enzyme kinetics: Understand the origins of the Michaelis-Menten equation, understand
the derivation of rate equations, understand different modes of inhibition and their
kinetic consequences.
Enzyme catalysis: Understand the principles that drive enzyme-based catalysis, be able
to demonstrate the understanding of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction by writing the
mechanism for that reaction. Be able to explain the details of catalysis for any given
macromolecular catalyst (soluble/membrane protein, ribozyme, etc).
Macromolecular structure (soluble, membrane), folding: Understand the driving force(s)
responsible for the adoption of secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure.
Central dogma: Understand of the biochemical processes of replication, transcription,
and translation.
Metabolism: Be able to explain the chemical logic of a metabolic pathway, particularly
those from primary metabolism (e.g. glycolysis, citric acid cycle, fatty acid biosynthesis,
etc.). be able to adapt the chemical logic from a primary metabolic pathway to that of a
secondary metabolic pathway.
DNA technology: Understand underpinnings of gene amplification by PCR and more
advanced quantitative techniques. This also includes uses of DNA in nanotechnology.
Peptide synthesis: Understand how peptides are synthesized on solid support. Also,
understand how peptides are synthesized by the ribosome, as related to Central dogma.
Macromolecular interactions: Understand and explain how molecules interact with one
another, the thermodynamic driving forces, and biological consequences.
Ligand binding: Understand the bases for selective ligand binding and the driving forces
behind them.
Lipids and membranes: Ability to identify different classes of lipids and an
understanding of their physicochemical properties
Carbohydrates: Ability to identify different classes of carbohydrates and an
understanding of their physicochemical properties
Post-translational modifications: Understand how post-translational modifications are
introduced into a peptide or protein, understand the biological and biochemical
ramifications of a post-translational modification.
Cofactors: Identify common cofactors (organic, metal ion) used by enzymes, recognize
the chemistry(ies) enabled by a cofactor, and explain the mechanism by which a
cofactor enables specific chemistry.
Evolution: Be able to explain natural selection, lab-based selection protocols,
phylogenetic analysis, and evolutionary relationships.
Biological applications of thermodynamics: Explain the laws of thermodynamics;
understand how various thermodynamic quantities are measured for biological systems
and their biological interpretations.
Biotransport: Understand, explain, and apply concepts of diffusion, centrifugation,
electrophoresis and membrane potentials.
Techniques: You should be able to describe and explain the technical aspects/
underpinnings of experiments in the assigned literature. Below are examples of the
categories of techniques you will encounter:
Macromolecular characterization
Gene amplification, manipulation
Recombinant DNA technology
Protein purification
Electrophoretic techniques
Bioanalytical characterization techniques
Biophysical characterization techniques (including spectroscopy)
Macromolecular structure visualization techniques
Bioinformatics
Cell culture techniques
Math (statistics, probability, etc)