Online Microbiology and Biology Study Notes
Biochemistry is a branch of science that deals with the structure, composition, and metabolism of biomolecules found in different living organisms.
Brain Lipid Extraction Protocol “Brain lipid extracts” refers to a lipid mixture extracted from the brain tissue of animals. It has been found that such brain lipid extracts contain a mixture of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that have four or more double bonds and closely resemble the mixture of PUFAs found in human breast milk. The mixture of …
Glycogenolysis Glycogen is the major storage form of carbohydrate in animals similar to starch in plants. It is a homopolymer made up of repeated units of α- D glucose and each molecule is linked to another by 1→4 glycosidic bond which is a link connecting the 1st C atom of the active glucose residue to the 6th C atom of …
De novo pyrimidine synthesis Biosynthesis of pyrimidine nucleotides can occur by a de novo pathway or by the reutilization of preformed pyrimidine bases or ribonucleosides (salvage pathway). The pyrimidine synthesis is a similar process than that of purines. In the de novo synthesis of pyrimidines, the ring is synthesized first and then it is attached to a ribose-phosphate to for a pyrimidine nucleotide. Location De novo pyrimidine synthesis …
Alpha Oxidation Alpha – oxidation is defined as the oxidation of fatty acid (methyl group at beta carbon) with the removal of one carbon unit adjacent to the α-carbon from the carboxylic end. The carbon unit is removed in the form of CO2. Alpha oxidation occurs in those fatty acids that have a methyl group (-CH3) at the beta-carbon, which …
Glycogenesis Glycogen is the major storage form of carbohydrate in animals similar to starch in plants. It is a homopolymer made up of repeated units of α- D glucose and each molecule is linked to another by 1→4 glycosidic bond which is a link connecting the 1st C atom of the active glucose residue to the 6th C atom of …
Enzyme Inhibition Enzymes are the biological macromolecules, also called as biological catalysts, which speed up the rate of biochemical reactions without undergoing any change. It is a highly selective catalyst that greatly accelerates both the rate and specificity of metabolic reactions. Many types of molecule exist which are capable of interfering with the activity of an individual enzyme. Any molecule which …
The Michaelis–Menten model A major role of proteins is to serve as enzymes, the catalysts of biochemical reactions. They do so by reducing the Gibbs free energy of activation, ΔG, making it easier for the reaction to reach its transition state. The rate (v) of many enzyme-catalyzed reactions can be described by the Michaelis–Menten equation. For enzymes that exhibit Michaelis–Menten …
Buffer and Extraction Buffer A buffer is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its salt (acidic buffer) or a weak base and its salt (basic buffer) that resists a change in pH on the addition of either acid or base. Its pH changes very little when a small amount of strong acid or base …
The Wobble Hypothesis There are more than one codon for one amino acid. This is called degeneracy of genetic code. To explain the possible cause of degeneracy of codons, in 1966, Francis Crick proposed “the Wobble hypothesis”. According to this hypothesis, only the first two bases of the codon have a precise pairing with the bases of the anticodon of …
Water Soluble Vitamins- B-Complex and C Vitamins refer to any of a group of organic compounds which are essential for normal growth and nutrition and are required in small quantities in the diet. Vitamins are biologically important. Although a micronutrient, it enhances the metabolism of macronutrients like proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Vitamins are also required for growth in children, formation …