BACT 221
LECTURES 2 and 3
Biochemistry/Functional Anatomy

Chapter 2 - Chemical Principles
Chapter 3 - Observing Microorganisms through a Microscope (read only pp. 68-72)
Chapter 4 - Functional Anatomy

I.  Biochemistry (Chapter 2)
 A) You should have a basic knowledge of elements, atoms and the formation of chemical bonds - covered in pp. 27-39 in text.

 B)  Major classes of biological macromolecules - Proteins, Polysaccharides, Nucleic Acids.
     1)  All are polymers - made up of repeating units of subunits called monomers.
                 a)  Protein function - enzymes (biological catalysts)/metabolism, transport of molecules, DNA & RNA synthesis,
                        structure   of cell.
                 b)  Polysaccharide function - energy source.
                 c)  Nucleic Acid function - storage and expression of genetic material.

 C)  Proteins or polypeptides are polymers of amino acids.
    1)  Amino acid structure
    2) 20 amino acids commonly found in all proteins.
    3)  Proteins held together by peptide bonds.
    4)  Once the primary amino acid chain is formed, a protein can fold into a helix or a pleated sheet and then into a
                    3-D globular shape.

 D)  Polysaccharides are made up of sugar (monosaccharide) subunits.
   1)  Polysaccharides (carbohydrates) are formed when a glycosidic bond is formed between two sugar molecules.

 E)  Nucleic Acids - DNA and RNA
      1) Flow of information in biological systems.
      2) DNA is a polymer of deoxyribonucleotides.
                Sugar (deoxyribose - 5-carbon sugar), phosphate group (5ícarbon of    sugar), nitrogenous base (purine or pyrimidine ring)
                 Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine (AGCT)
                 Purines (A, G), pyrimidines (C, T)
                 3í OH  - direction
      3)  RNA is also a polymer of nucleotides, except that the sugar is ribose, not  deoxyribose.  Also, base uracil replaces thymine.
      4)  RNA and DNA held together by phosphdiester bonds between two  nucleotides.

  F)  One last important biological molecule, not classified as a macromolecule because it is too small - Lipids.
          1)  not polymers of smaller subunits
          2)  Phospholipids - made up of fatty acids, glycerol, phosphate and are the  main structural component of cell membranes.
          3)  cell membrane is a lipid bilayer.

FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY - Chapter 4

The Prokaryotic Cell
Bacterial shapes and arrangements -
 A) three basic shapes
      1) coccus (cocci) - sphere-shaped
      2) bacillus (bacilli) - rod-shaped or cylindrical
      3)  spirillus (spirillum) - spiral-shaped
 B) Bacterial cell arrangements
    1) strepto - chains
           streptococcus - spherical cells in long chains
      2) staphylo - clusters
      3) diplo - groups of two

Bacterial structures by function
I)  Cell Wall
    A)  The cell wall serves to enclose internal contents and separate them from external environment, maintains integrity of the cell.
            1)  Gram positive and Gram negative cell walls.
             2)  Gram positive cell wall is characterized by a thick peptidoglycan layer.
                      a)  Peptidoglycan made of 1) a glycan backbone made of two sugars, N-acetylglucosamine (NAG)
                            and N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM) and 2) peptides which attach to the NAM molecules to join them together.
                         - diaminopimelic acid is an unusual amino acid found only in bacterial cell walls.
                         - The antibiotic Penicillin interferes with the synthesis of peptidoglycan.
                         - The Archaebacteria do not have peptidoglycan in their walls.
             3)  Gram negative cell wall - thinner layer of peptidoglycan plus an outer membrane and a periplasm.
             4)  Staining procedures - learning in lab starting today.
                    a)  Simple; differential; structural.
             5) Mycolic acid is an unusual lipid found in the cell walls of bacteria called the Acid-Fast bacteria -
                    mostly in the Genus Mycobacterium (M. leprae and M. tuberculosis)
                     a)  Mycolic acid is a high MW fat which has the consistency of paraffin wax, so cells with this molecule in their cell
                        walls are difficult to stain, but once the stain is difficult to decolorize/remove.
                     b)  Acid-Fast refers to a special staining procedure which was developed to stain these bacteria.
          6)  Some bacteria lack a cell wall - Genus Mycoplasma.
     B)  The cell wall maintains the integrity of the cell.
          1) Bacterial normally grow , in nature and lab, in aqueous environments that contain low concentrations of
                salts and other nutrients.
           2)  Cytoplasm is a concentrated soup of organic salts, sugars, amino acids and other molecules.
           3)  The number of particles (solutes) tends to equalize on both sides of the cell (osmosis).
                And since there are more particles inside the cell, water tends to flow into the cell.
                This puts pressure on the membrane and without a cell wall, the cell would burst.
          4) Without a cell wall, cells can be maintained if they are in a solution that contains higher salt.
 
 II)  Membranes - important for regulating molecular traffic.
     A)  Cytoplasmic membrane (plasma membrane) surrounds the cytoplasm of the cell.
     B) 40% lipid, 60% protein.
     C) Lipid - phospholipid bilayer.
     D) Protein - integral proteins
                        peripheral proteins
     E)  Semipermeable
     F) How do molecules get through the membrane?
               1)  Diffusion -
                              Passive -
                              Facilitated -
               2) Active transport -
     G)  Exoenzymes -

III)  Metabolism - sum total of all chemical reactions in the cell; occurs in the cytoplasm.
        Cytoplasm is the soup of proteins inside the cell memb/wall.
     A)  Two important functions that occur in the cytoplasm are:
              Generation of energy
              Protein synthesis
     B)  Energy - nutrient molecules are broken down, and in the process, energy is created that the cell can use for
            synthesis of cell components, DNA, proteins
     C)  Protein synthesis -
                      1)  Protein factories of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells are ribosomes.  Turn RNA  into protein.
                      2)  Structure -
     D)  Storage granules - aggregates of large molecules stockpiles of useful molecules.
          1)  Several types -
                   Glycogen - polymer of glucose molecules; energy, carbon    storage.
                   B-hydroxybutyric acid - energy, carbon storage
                   Volutin - Phosphate storage.

IV)  Movement - Flagella (prokaryotic different from eukaryotic)
     A)  Three parts
          1)  filament - composed of flagellin proteins twisted together in a  helical conformation.
          2)  hook - transition between filament and motor.
          3)  basal body - anchor in cell wall and motor.
     B)  E. coli can move at a speed of 20 body lengths per second (20 um/sec).
     C)  Arrangement of flagella - helpful in identification of species.
          1)  single - monotrichous
          2)  tuft - lophotrichous
          3)  all around - peritrichous
          4)  one at each end - amphitrichous
     D) Mechanism of movement - Read about in text.
          1)  Chemotaxis - movement toward food or away from harmful  substances.
     E)  No cilia in prokaryotes - only in eukaryotes.

V)  Cell attachment, transfer of genetic information - Pili (fimbrae)
     A)  Pili are hairlike protein appendages that extend from the cell surface.
          1)  Adhesins are proteins on pili which help in the attachment process.
          2)  Attachment is one of the first steps in cause of disease.
           3)  Special pili involved in transfer of DNA from one cell to another
                      F or sex pili - more later

VI)  Another special structure involved in cell attachment - Capsule.
     A)  Capsule - slime layer (polysaccharides) produced and deposited outside cell wall.
     B)  Cell envelope - Capsule, cell wall, cytoplasmic membrane.
     C)  Slime components
     D)  Not all bacterial species make capsules; can also depend on nutritional environment.
     E)  Bacti colonies are slimy
     F)  Capsules are visualized by stain technique that involves negative staining (just learned in lab).
     G)  Capsule also involved in disease, attachment - capsules provide a protective function to bacterial cells

VII)  Special survival structure - Endospores (ěSporesî)
     A)  Present in some Gr+ bacilli
     B)  Develop inside the vegetative cell (actively growing cell) when environment becomes unfavorable
                - low carbon, low nitrogen.
     C)  Structure - coat, core
     D)  When conditions become favorable, spore germinates and forms vegetative cell.

VIII)  Storage of genetic information - DNA arranged in a nucleoid (region).
     A)  Bacterial chromosome
              1)  one, sometimes a few, but all identical.
              2)  A single, long, double-stranded DNA molecule.
                           Stretched out - 1 mm (way bigger than cell)
              3)  Read about how DNA is organized so it fits inside the cell.
 

The Eukaryotic Cell
I) Eukaryotic plasma membrane and cell wall.
    A)  Cell wall (when present) contains cellulose or chitin or glucan or mannan
    B)  Animal cells surrounded by glycocalyx.
    C) Plasma membrane - phosholipid bilayer with proteins
        1)  Also carbohydrates and sterols
        2)  Passive and active transport

II) Eukaryotic cytoplasm - similar to prokaryote, but has a cytoskeleton.
    A)  Organelles - membrane bound structures in the cytoplasm.
        1) Nucleus - DNA, nuclear envelope.
        2)  Endoplasmic Reticulum - multifunctional.
        3)  Ribosomes - protein synthesis, 80S.
        4)  Golgi Complex - membrane formation, protein secretion.
        5)  Mitochondria - ATP production, contain 70S ribosomes, DNA and multiply by fission.
        6)  Chloroplasts - photosynthesis, contain 70S ribosomes, DNA and multiply by fission.
        7)  Lysosomes - digestive enzymes
        8)  Vacuoles - storage organelles
        9)  Centrioles - involved in cell division.
        10) Movement - flagella and cilia.

III)  Endosymbiont theory - evolution of eukaryotes.