W2:Raw Materials of Biotech

• Biotechnology


  The use of living organisms or their components to make useful products
• Levels of biological organization

  • Organisms
  • Organs
  • Tissues
  • Cells
  • Organelles
  • Molecules
  • Atoms

  
• Multicellular organism

  • Grouped into functional units that perform different "jobs" to ensure the whole organism can survive
• Prokaryotes

  No nuclear membrane, closed circular DNA molecule, lack other membrane-bound organelles, Bacteria and Archae
• Eukaryotes

  Contain true membrane-enclosed nucleus, linear DNA complexed with histones that form into chromosomes, contain membrane-bound organelles, Animals, Fungi, Protozoa, higher plants, larger and more complex than prokaryotes
• Differences between Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic cells

  • Nucleus
  • DNA
  • Ribosomes
  • Cytoplasm
• Cells, both unicellular and multicellular, naturally produce many types of molecules
• Each type of cell has a unique composition of organelles needed to manufacture all of the substances and regulate all of the processes
• Central Dogma of Biology

  DNA codes for RNA and RNA codes for proteins (DNA -> mRNA -> proteins)
• There are exceptions to the Central Dogma; Retrovirus family (e.g., the HIV, other RNA tumor viruses) can reverse the flow of genetic information from "RNA to DNA"
• Types of cells used in Biotechnology

  • Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells
  • Escherichia coli (E. coli)
• Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) Cells

  • Derived from Chinese Hamster Ovary cells, a viable epithelial cell line containing twin female X chromosomes, nutritional requirement for the amino acid proline, used in studies of genetics, toxicity screening, nutrition and gene expression particularly expression of recombinant proteins
• Vero Cells

  • Derived from the kidney epithelial cell of a normal, adult, African green monkey, sensitive to virus infection, used as a vaccine cell substrate, for virus replication studies and plaque assays
• HeLa Cells

  • Cultured from epithelial cells derived from a cervical carcinoma of an African American woman, extensively used in cancer research, for virus cultivation and antitumor drug screening assays, proliferate abnormally rapidly, have an active version of the enzyme telomerase
• Escherichia coli (E. coli)

  • Frequently studied in microbiology and is the current "workhorse" in molecular biology, researchers alter the bacteria to serve as "factories" to synthesize DNA and/or proteins, one of the first useful applications of recombinant DNA technology was the manipulation of E. coli to produce human insulin for patients with diabetes
• Main classes of macromolecules (bio-molecules) in cells

  • Carbohydrates
  • Lipids
  • Proteins
  • Nucleic Acids
• HeLa cells

  • Characteristics/facts
• E. coli

  • Characteristics/facts
• Engineered molecules

  Basis of many biotechnology products
• Main classes of macromolecules (bio-molecules) in cells

  • Carbohydrates
  • Lipids
  • Proteins
  • Nucleic Acids
• Carbohydrates

  Compounds with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms with the general formula (CH2O)n; ratio C:H:O = 1:2:1
• Monosaccharide

  A constituent of many structural units [including nucleic acids, cell walls and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)] in cells
• Glucose

  Primary source of energy in most cells
• Fructose

  Six carbon sugar, structural isomer of glucose
• Ribose and deoxyribose

  Five-carbon sugars found in the structure of RNA and DNA molecules
• Disaccharides

  Common form of storing glucose in plants and animals
• Sucrose

  One molecule of glucose + one molecule of fructose
• Lactose

  One molecule of galactose + one molecule of glucose, found in milk
• Glycogen and starch

  Composed of glucose units that are polymerized into large molecules called polysaccharides, important carbon and energy reserves
• Lipids

  Hydrocarbons composed of carbon and hydrogen with very few oxygen atoms, water-insoluble (hydrophobic)
• Triglycerides

  Glycolipids, including animal fats and plant oils, serve as energy storage molecules
• Phospholipids

  Made up of two fatty acid chains attached to a glycerol molecule, found primarily in cell membranes
• Steroids

  Act as signalling molecules, e.g. hormones (testosterone, estrogen) and venoms
• Proteins

  Workhorses of the cell, each serving a particular function due to its specific structure
• Categories of proteins

  • Structural
  • Enzyme
  • Transport
  • Contractile
  • Hormone
  • Antibody
  • Pigment
  • Recognition
  • Toxins
• Amino acids

  Building blocks of proteins
• Nucleic acids

  DNA and RNA, the genetic material in cells
• DNA

  Deoxyribonucleic acid, the genetic material in the cell
• RNA

  Ribonucleic acid, responsible for the translation of information in DNA into functional proteins
• Nucleotide

  Molecule composed of a nitrogenous base, a 5-carbon sugar and a phosphate group