Download Molecular Biology EU Exercise 1/ Seminar 1 Structure and

Molecular Biology EU
Exercise 1/ Seminar 1
Structure and properties of macromolecules of life
The chemical composition and structure of nucleic acids:
 definitions of following terms: deoxyribonucleic acid, ribonucleic acid, ribose, deoxyribose,
nitrogenous bases;
 nitrogenous bases properties:
- pyrimidines: cytosine, uracil, thymine;
- purines: adenine, guanine;
 phosphodiester bond, beta-N-glycosidic bond, hydrogen bond;
 3’ end, 5′-end of nucleic acid;
 nucleoside, nucleotide,
 structure of DNA helix,
 complementary base pairing;
 types of DNA structure: B-DNA, A-DNA, Z-DNA, tertiary and quaternary DNA structure, RNA
structure, hairpin structure.
The chemical composition and structure of proteins:
 general linear formula of an amino acid, peptide bond,
 essential amino acids, dispensable amino acids, hydrophobic aliphatic amino acids,
hydrophobic aromatic amino acids, polar amino acids with a charge, polar amino acids without
a charge,
 proteins structure: primary structure, secondary structure, tertiary structure, quaternary
structure, proteins’ functions.
The chemical composition and structure of sugars:
 simple sugars - aldose, ketose,
 complex sugars - disaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides,
 isomers,
 glyceraldehyde, ribose, glucose, galactose, pyranose ring forms, furanose ring forms,
disaccharides, lactose, maltose, sucrose, cellobiose, polysaccharides, glycogen, cellulose,
sugars’ functions.
The chemical composition and structure of fatty acids and lipids:
 saturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, essential fatty acids, omega-6 and omega-3 fatty
acids, triacylglycerols, triglycerides,
 lipids’ functions, lipids’ types, fats, waxes, phospholipids, glycolipids.
Spectrophotometric method for the determination of nucleic acids and proteins:
 absorption spectrophotometry, visible spectroscopy (VIS), colorimetry, ultraviolet spectroscopy
(UV), absorbance, Beer-Lambert law,
 spectrophotometric determination of nucleic acids and proteins,
 absorption spectrum, wavelength,
 nucleic acid samples purity determination,
 standard curve.
Recommended reading
“Molecular Biology of the Cell”, Alberts B.
“Campbell Biology”, Reece JB.
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