Fundamentals of Biochemistry

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Describe the structure of nucleic acids and explain how DNA is replicated, transcribed and translated into proteins.
• Describe the secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures of proteins including explanation of the forces involved in forming and maintaining such structures.
• Explain the concept of inborn errors of metabolism and how they may be corrected with biotechnology.
• Describe the structure of membranes and the structures/functions of proteins found in membranes.
• Outline the hormonal regulation of metabolism and discuss the importance of protein phosphorylation in this context.
• Describe the structures and properties of the amino acids found in proteins including examples of post-translational modifications to their structure.
• Describe the integration of metabolic pathways in anabolic and catabolic states (including exercise, starvation and diabetes).
• Define a plasmid and explain the use of restriction enzymes in creating recombinant DNA for use in molecular biology/biotechnology.
• Explain the Michaelis-Menten model of enzyme kinetics, including the effects of inhibitors, substrate concentration, temperature, pH and allosteric regulators on enzyme activity.
• Describe the pathways involved in the metabolism of glucose, fatty acids and amino acids, glycogen and triglycerides.
• Describe energetic and structural roles of carbohydrates in living organisms.

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Know how to perform fundamental molecular laboratory techniques such as running gels, column chromatography and measuring absorbances.

The module will introduce some of the macromolecules found in cells, how these are synthesized, and the role they play.

First, the structure and function of the various forms of nucleic acid are described and how the genetic information is passed on from one generation to another.

Next, the structures of the amino acids used to synthesize proteins and the various characteristics they contribute to the final protein are discussed, which leads onto a description of how protein chains fold, the structures of fully folded proteins and the nature of forces that stabilize the folded protein. Then, particular examples of proteins are explored: enzymes and membrane proteins, with the latter topic including a description of the other molecules found in membranes.

The final class of macromolecule is the carbohydrates, focusing on their structural roles in biological organisms in semester 1, with energy provision roles covered in semester 2.

Subsequent semester 1 lectures build upon the basic DNA and protein knowledge to illustrate how DNA can be manipulated by modern molecular biology techniques and how genes can be located in extracts of DNA, isolated and then cloned into plasmid vectors for high expression of the protein they encode.

Having introduced the types of macromolecule found in living organisms in semester 1, in semester 2 the module moves on to the major metabolic pathways that convert macromolecules consumed in the diet into energy, including how these pathways are regulated and altered by physiological and pathological scenarios such as starvation, exercise and diabetes. The causes and consequences of inborn mutations in key steps in these metabolic pathways are discussed, including options for treatment with DNA technology or drugs.

This module consists of 42 lectures, 4 lab-based practical sessions and 2 computer practicals.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.