Basic Molecular Components of Cell

• Nucleotide
• Amino Acid
• Polypeptide
• Polynucleotide
• RNA
• DNA
• Histone
• Nucleosome
• Chromatin Fiber

Protein Synthesis

• In Transcription, RNA Polymerase produces mRNA
• In Translation, the ribosome uses mRNA and tRNA to produce polypeptides
• The Primary Structure is the chemical sequence of amino acids
• The Secondary Structure is the three dimensional structure after the folding of subsections into structures such as alpha helix and beta sheets.
• The Tertiary Structure is the three dimensional structure after complete folding.
• The Quaternary Structure is the three dimensional structure of a complex of folded sub units.

Lipids

• Hydrophobic vs hydrophilic vs amphiphilic
• Fatty Acids, Phospholipids
• Saturated, unsaturated carboxylic acids.
• Micelle, liposome, bilayer,surfactant.
• The meaning of common lipid shorthand: DOPC, POPC, DPPC, etc.

Know the basic structure or concepts of the following

• Eucaryote vs Procaryote
• The basic structure of the sugars glucose, ribose, and deoxyribose including 1' to 5' positions.
• The chemical structure of an Amine group and a Carboxyl group.
• Nucleotides consist of a Base, Sugar and Phosphate
  • Bases are either Pyrimidines (one ring) or Purines (two rings)
  • The sugar is either ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA
  • Bases are linked to the Sugar at the 1' position
  • Phosphates are linked to the sugar at the 5' position
  • Polynucleotides are formed when phosphates of one nucleotide bind to the 3' position of another nucleotide.
• Nucleotides bind to their complementary base with hydrogen bonds. G-C uses 3 H-bonds, A-T(U) uses 2 H-bonds.
• Amino Acids contain an Amino group, Carboxyl group and a reactive group.
  • The reactive group gives the specificity of the amino acid. 20 are produced and used in living organisms.
  • Polypeptides are formed by peptide bond, combining the amino group of one amino acid the carboxyl group of another.
  • The N-terminus of a protein corresponds to the free amino group at one end.
  • The C-terminus of a protein corresponds to the free carboxyl group at one end.