Proteins are one of the most important biological molecules in the body; they make up more than 50% of the dry mass in human body cells. Their simple structure can be described as amino acid polymers as they are made up of many amino acid monomers stringed together in a linear fashion, which then gives rise to more complex structures, as various bonding and manipulation takes place. The name ‘protein’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘holding first place’ which supports the fact that they are essential to life. Proteins, depending on their structure and where they are found, play very different roles in an organism. One of the main types of proteins are enzymes which act as biological catalysts, and are fundamental to the chemical …show more content…
An amino acid is made up of a carbon atom in the centre (known as the carbon), a carboxyl group, amino group, a hydrogen atom and an R group (figure 1). The R group is the section of the amino acid that determines its chemical properties. In glycine, the R group is hydrogen. Some of the amino acids have R groups that are hydrophobic and some have R groups that are hydrophilic and this often determines how the protein folds into its tertiary structure and also where they can be found within the cell. It is the sequence of these amino acids that determines the type of protein that is made. Amino acids join to form proteins in a process known as protein synthesis where a gene is expressed to produce a polypeptide chain. After the genetic code has been translated from the DNA in the nucleus, the resulting mRNA is transcribed into a polypeptide in the cytoplasm of the cell. The mRNA binds to a ribosome and has 3 base pairs exposed called a codon. The anticodon of a tRNA molecule can then bind to the codon as it has complementary base pairs, and it carries with it an amino acid. The first amino acid in the chain is always methionine. When a second tRNA, carrying a different amino acid arrives and binds, a peptide bond forms between the two amino acids and the resulting product is a dipeptide molecule – two amino acids joined together. This process continues and as more amino acids are joined together by peptide
Enzymes are known as protein catalysts. The name protein catalyst suggests that most enzymes are made of proteins. A catalyst is a substance that speeds up chemical reactions without being consumed in the process. (Giuseppe, M 2002, p.69). After a reaction has been catalyzed, the catalyst can be used again to catalyze the same reaction. Enzymes reduce the activation energy (minimal energy) it takes for a reaction to take place. Enzymes can either catabolize (destroy), or anabolize (build up) a chemical system.
Enzymes are proteins produced by living organisms to speed up a chemical reaction in the body. Enzymes are important because they are needed to start chemical reactions and to break down harmful substances. Enzymes work by first binding to a specific substrate. They bind on the active site. They then form a complex and react.
Of the many functions of proteins, catalysis is by far the most vital. When catalysis is not present, most reactions in the biological systems take place very slowly to produce at an adequate pace for metabolising organism. The catalysts that take this role are called enzymes. Enzymes are the most efficient catalysts; they can enhance rate of reaction by up to 1020 over uncatalysed reactions. (Campbell et al, 2012).
Introduction:Enzymes are made up of proteins which are produced within living cells and act as catalysts which speed up chemical reactions. They are made up of long chains of amino acids containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Enzymes are structured to be
Each gene acts as a code, or set of instructions, for making a particular protein. They tell the cell what to do, give its characteristics, and determine the way its body works. Each protein has a unique sequence of amino acids. This means that the number and order of amino acids is different for each type of protein. The proteins fold into different shapes. The different shapes and sequences give the proteins different functions, e.g. keratin are a fibrous protein found in hair and nails. If the gene has even the slightest of disorder within its sequence it could lead to an inaccurate order of amino acids
Then the tRNA molecules link together and transfer the amino acid to the ribosome. An Anticodons pair with a codon takes the
Enzymes are an organic substance that are made up of polymers of amino acids that help the digestive system and metabolic processes in living organisms (Funk and Wagnalls, 2016). Enzymes are able
Proteins are important for the human body. Proteins play many important roles in the body including the structure of enzymes; these are important proteins that help reactions occur in the body, such as releasing from the food we eat. Proteins also function as transport proteins such as hemoglobin; an iron
Translation is the process in which ribosomes synthesize proteins using the mRNA transcript produced during transcription. AT first, the mRNA binds with a ribosome so that it can be decoded one codon at a time. Each codon codes for an amino acid is activated. A tRNA molecule has two ends: one that has a specific binding site for a particular sequence of nucleotides, an anticodon that can base pair with a codon. Appropriate tRNA molecules attach to, then carry the activated amino acid to the ribosome. Anticodons air with codons to bring the specific amino acid to the correct place. A second tRNA repeats this process and the first tRNA releases its amino to the second tRNA. The two amino acids form a peptide bond using the energy from ATP. The ribosome reads the next codon and then another tRNA comes along to repeat the process. As tRNA come and go, amino acids link together, forming more peptide bonds. Eventually, a polypeptide chain in synthesized and it undergoes its conformational changes to carry out its function as a protein. DNA Replication and protein synthesis are both similar and
The biological definition of an enzyme is, a substance produced by a living organism that acts as a catalyst to bring about a specific biochemical reaction. Based on research in genetics, it can be concluded that there are around 25,000 enzymes. From these enzymes, only 5,000 have been characterized so there is a great deal still to discover. Organic reactions in the body tend to be very slow, so in order to account for the slowness of these reactions, enzymes are needed to be a catalyst in these reactions to speed up the process. Enzymes are binding proteins. They bind with certain substrates to create products.
Proteins are organic and complex compounds made of several amino acids that are linked and cross-linked by the chains of peptide; hydrogen, van der Waals and the sulfhydryl forces respectively. Among the biologically active compounds, proteins are made of varied chemical compounds. Proteins can be grouped as simple proteins, conjugated proteins, and the derived proteins (Rodriguez, 2009).
Proteins are one of the key biomolecules that make up the human body and facilitate different processes and reactions in the body (Silverthorn, 2016). Proteins exist in every cell in the human body and there are many different types of proteins with specialized functions that are necessary to maintain homeostasis (Silverthorn, 2016). Enzymes are a type of protein that performs like catalysts in the cells and start specific reactions (Ira, 2009).Catalysts start or increase the rate at
This includes “Transcription” and then “Translation”. Protein synthesis occurs outside of the nucleus on ribosome with the cytoplasm. The molecules of the “RNA” carries a transcribed genetic message from the DNA to the ribosome, whereas the other molecules of the “RNA” function in the assemble of the protein. RNA is a second type of nuclei acid. The RNA differs from the DNA; this is when it has the base of Uracil instead of the base Thymine. The RNA is usually a single stranded molecule rather than a double helix like DNA. They are three types of RNA and these include: Ribosomal “RNA (rRNA)”, this is the major structural component of ribosome. The second type of RNA is the messenger “RNA(mRNA)”, this is when it functions in carrying the genetic message from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, and the final type of RNA is Transfer RNA (tRNA) this is when it brings the amino acids into position on the ribosome during the construction of a protein. The actual process of the protein synthesis begins when a portion of the DNA double helix unzips to expose a gene; this means that the genetics will consider a gene to be a segment of the DNA that codes for one particular protein. This means that the base pairs of the double stranded DNA molecules then are able to unzip down the middles as weak Hydrogen bonds, this then breaks the paired bases and the double stranded DNA becomes a single stranded and allows the base pair to be RNA nucleotides. One of the exposed DNA strands will pair with one of the RNA nucleotides which will end up making the “mRNA” molecule. The RNA bases include: “A, U, C and G”. The “mRNA” attaches to a ribosome in the cytoplasm, a length of the mRNA which consists of six bases will fit into the globular ribosome at one time. A triplet is the “mRNA” code for a certain amino acid. These are called a Codon. They will be three bases of the “mRNA”, this is known as the first triplet, these are found in the ribosome and are
Campbell and Farrell define proteins as polymers of amino acids that have been covalently joined through peptide bonds to form amino acid chains (61). A short amino acid chain comprising of thirty amino acids forms a peptide, and a longer chain of amino acids forms a polypeptide or a protein. Each of the amino acids making up a protein, has a fundamental design that comprises of a central carbon or alpha carbon that is bonded to a hydrogen element, an amino grouping, a carboxyl grouping, and a unique side chain or the R-group (Campbell and Farrell 61).
Amino acids are linked together via peptide bonds to form polypeptide chains, which undergo various levels of folding and interaction with other polypeptides to create a functional protein. The N terminus of one amino acid, which is acts as a base, links to the C terminus of another amino acid which is acidic. Proteins vary in complexity and properties, all owing to the collective natures and behaviors of their amino acid constituents.