CYL414: An Introduction to Biochemistry

Cell as structural and functional units of life

Instructor: Yashveer Singh, Chemistry

29 July 2015

Distinguishing features of living organisms

High degree of chemical complexity and microscopic organization
System for extracting, transforming and using energy from the
environment
Defined functions for organisms components and regulated
interactions among them
Mechanism for sensing and responding to alterations in their
surroundings

Capacity for precise replication and self assembly

Capability to survive over time by gradual evolution
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

What is common to all life forms?

Whole bacteria comprises just one cell

(unicellular organisms)

An adult human body comprises

30 trillion cells
(multicellular organisms)
All living organisms,

whether big or small, contain cells

Even a single cell is able to carry out essential life processes
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What is common to all life forms?

Diverse organisms, with nothing in common, are shown in the

painting, except the fact that all contain one or more cells
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

What is common to all molecules?

All molecules, whether big or small, contain atoms

Atoms are units of molecule
Stokers Chemistry

What is common to all buildings?

All buildings, whether big or small, will contain bricks

How does life begins in multicellular organisms?

Male reproductive organ produces several hundred million sperms

every day, which undergo division to form spermatozoa
Female reproductive organs produces (~2 million) eggs, which
undergo division to produce ovum
http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100H/ch9meiosis.html

How does life begins in multicellular organisms?

The spermatozoa and ovum (called gametes) fuses during the

fertilization to form a zygote
Zygote, which is a single cell, undergo division and differentiation
to form a multicellular organism in less than a year after fertilization
Ever for multicellular organisms, life begins as a single cell

http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100H/ch9meiosis.html

How does life begins in multicellular organisms?

csls-text2.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp

The zygote undergoes mitotic division to form blastula, which is a

hollow ball of cells
Ultimately, three germ layers are produced: ectoderm, mesoderm,
and endoderm
https://smartsite.ucdavis.edu/access/content/user/00002950/bis10v/week10/13z
ygoteembroyo.html

How does life begins in multicellular organisms?

The three layer differentiate and arrange into tissue, organs, and
organ systems. Ectoderm gives rise to skin and nervous system;
endoderm to the lining of digestive and respiratory tracts, parts of the
liver and pancreas, and bladder lining; and mesoderm to muscles,
skeleton, circulatory system, excretory system, gonads, and inner
layer of skin (dermis)
All the structure of a multicellular organism arises from division
and differentiation of a single cell
All functions carried out by a multicellular organism is due to the
arrangement of cells into tissue, organs, and organ system

https://smartsite.ucdavis.edu/access/content/user/00002950/bis10v/week10/13z
ygoteembroyo.html

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What is the unit of life?

Therefore, the structural and functional unit of life is cell

No matter which organism it is, it must posses at least a cell
To understand life, one must go to cellular level
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Chemical composition of living organisms

Living organism unlike nonliving materials, are rich in carbon,

hydrogen, and oxygen
It suggest possibility of carbon (organic) compounds
Biochemistry by Garrett and Grisham

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Chemical composition of living organisms

Carbon can form single, double, and triple bonds

A single carbon can form multiple bonds with variety of atoms
Carbon compounds also contain diverse set of functional groups

Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Chemical composition of living organisms

Therefore, carbons have the unique ability to form complex

structures with long chain along with variety of rings and functional
groups
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Chemical composition of cells

Cells have universal set of small molecules: amino acids,

nucleotides, sugars and their phosphorylated derivatives, and mono-,
di-, and tricarboxylic acids
These molecules are used to assemble macromolecules:
polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids (not a true
polymer)
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Chemical composition of cells

Stereochemistry also plays an
important role
A macromolecule may have cisan/or trans center
As a results the two isomers may
have very different structures

Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Chemical composition of cells

If molecular asymmetry is present, macromolecules may also

exhibit optical isomerism
As a result interactions between macromolecules are stereospecific

Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Chemical composition of cells

Cells in true sense a hierarchical organization of biomolecules or

macromolecules (continued on next slide)
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Chemical composition of cells

In the first step, macromolecules or biomecules are assembled.
Amino acids are used for protein synthesis, nucleotides for nucleic
acids, sugars for polysaccharide, and so on. These macromolecules
are formed using mainly covalent bonds
The macromolecules are then assembled into supramoleculer
assemblies (cell organelles) using noncovalent interactions. For
example, plasma membrane is assembled using lipid and proteins and
chromosomes are assembled using protein and nucleic acids
Finally, supramolecular assemblies (organelles) are arranged into a
cell structure

Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Then, what is biochemistry?

Therefore, biochemistry is understanding the molecular basis of life
processes occurring at the level of cells

Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Different classes of organisms

All living organisms are grouped into three categories: bacteria,

archaea, and eukarya
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Different classes of organisms

Aerobic
Needs oxygen

Anaerobic
Do not need oxygen
Obligate
Will not survive in the
presence of oxygen

Facultative
Will survive with or
without oxygen
Bacteria and archaea
Bacteria and archaea are unicellular organisms and can be either
aerobic or anerobic
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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Different classes of organisms

Living organisms are also categorized based on their source of

energy as shown above

Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

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What about viruses?

Viruses are considered non-living

because they need host cells to
grow and reproduce
Timberlakes Chemistry

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