DIVERSITY OF BIOMOLECULES

Introduction:  The human body is made up of chemicals, cells, tissues, body organs and the systems, all in the increasing order of complexity.  More than 99% of the human body is composed of 6 elements namely; oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus.  Human body is composed of about 60% water, 15% proteins, 15% lipids, 2% carbohydrates and 8% minerals.  It is also surprising to know that out of these molecules, more than 90% contains Carbon as on of the atoms associated, making Carbon one of the most abundant atom on Earth in both animals and plants.  These molecules of life interact in different fashions to make life moving and duplicating.  In some my previous discussions, I have been talking about the molecules of inheritance and there is a great deal of knowledge about DNA and RNA as the parent molecules as you can read about them in the embedded links.

Structural makeup and organization:  Molecular structures in organisms are built from 30 small precursors, sometimes called the alphabet of biochemistry.  These are 20 amino acids, 2 purines, 3 pyrimidines, sugars (glucose and ribose), palmitate, glycerol and choline.  In living organisms the biomolecules are ordered into a hierarchy of increasing molecular complexity.  These biomolecules are covalently linked to each other to form macromolecules of the cell, for example glucose to glycogen, amino acids to proteins, and many others.

Major complex biomolecules are Proteins, Polysaccharides, Lipids and Nucleic acids.  The macromolecules associate with each other by noncovalent forces to form supramolecular systems, such as ribosomes, lipoproteins.  Finally, at the highest level of organisation in the hierarchy of cell structure, various supramolecular complexes are further assembled into cell organelle.  In prokaryotes such as bacteria, these macromolecules are seen in a homogeneous matrix; but in eukaryotic cells or higher organisms, the cytoplasm contains various subcellular organelles.

RELATED;

1.  PROTEINS  

2.  ENZYMES

3.  AMINO ACIDS

4.  DNA, THE GENETIC MATERIAL

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