Molecules of Life

Molecules of Life
Objective
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to recognize the major categories of biomolecules such
as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
What are the functions of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids?
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Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are molecules that are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They have a
general formula of CnH2nOn. They can be grouped depending on the number of their monomer
units called saccharides.
Monosaccharides are the simplest form of carbohydrates. They contain either five or six carbon
atoms. On the other hand, disaccharides are two monosaccharides bonded to each other. The
monosaccharides are linked through an ether (C−O−C) group.
Polysaccharides are long chains of monosaccharide units. They are also called complex
carbohydrates. Similar to disaccharides, the monosaccharides are linked through an ether bond in
polysaccharides.
Functions
The main function of carbohydrates is to store and provide energy. They are broken down into
smaller glucose units that can be easily absorbed by the cells. When glucose is further broken down,
the energy released by breaking its chemical bonds are used or stored by the body.
Some carbohydrates also serve as the framework of cellular structures. For example, cellulose
makes up the cell wall of plant cells. Chitin, another carbohydrate, forms the exoskeleton of
arthropods and the cell wall of fungal cells.
Example
A typical example of monosaccharide is glucose, C6H12O6, one of the products of photosynthesis in
plants.
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Lipids
Lipids are large, nonpolar biomolecules. They are mainly composed of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen. Unlike proteins and carbohydrates, lipids are not polymers with repeating monomer
subunits. They have many kinds including triglycerides, waxes, and steroids.
Triglycerides are lipids composed of glycerol and fatty acids. Glycerol is a molecule with three
carbons, each containing a hydroxyl (−OH) group while fatty acid is a long chain of carboxylic acid.
When three fatty acids bond to glycerol, they form ester bonds.
Waxes are lipids that are composed of a fatty acid with a long chain of alcohol. They are produced
by both plants and animals. Plants often produce wax that coats their leaves and prevents them from
drying out. Animals such as bees also produce wax. Bees create their honeycomb structures from
beeswax.
Steroids are lipids without fatty acid chains. Instead, they have multiple rings in their structures.
They are built from the basic four-ring steroid structure.
Functions
Lipids are the reserved sources of energy. The energy stored in their bonds is used by the body for
fuel. When the energy is abundant, cells store the excess energy in the fatty acids of triglycerides.
Lipids like waxes are used as a protective coating of organisms. Because they are hydrophobic,
lipids protect plants and animals from drying out by controlling evaporation.
Example
An example of a steroid is dietary lipid cholesterol. Cholesterol is the precursor of hormones such as
estrogen and progesterone. Recall that hormones are molecules that communicate between organs
to regulate physiology and behavior.
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Proteins
Proteins are biomolecules composed of amino acid units. Amino acids are organic molecules that
have a central carbon atom bonded to four different groups — an amino group (−NH2), an acidic
carboxyl group (−COOH), a hydrogen atom, and a variable side chain, R. The side chain can range
from a single hydrogen atom to complex ring structures.
In a protein, the amino acids are linked via a peptide bond. This peptide bond is formed between an
amino group of one amino acid and an acid carboxyl group of another amino acid. A chain of two or
more amino acids linked together by peptide bonds is called a peptide.
Functions
Many proteins function as enzymes, which are molecules that catalyze or speed up chemical
reactions in the body. Other proteins function as transport proteins. They carry small particles
throughout the body.
Example
The protein haemoglobin carries oxygen in the blood from the lungs to the rest of the body. An
important part of haemoglobin is its iron group (called heme), the part to which oxygen binds.
Learn about it!

Nucleic Acids
Nucleic acids, discovered by Friedrich Miescher in 1869, are biomolecules that are made up of
repeating units of nucleotides. Nucleotides are monomers with three components, a 5-carbon sugar,
a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. The nucleotides are linked through phosphodiester
bonds.
If the sugar is ribose, then the nucleotides make up the ribonucleic acid (RNA). On the other hand,
if the sugar is deoxyribose, then the nucleotides make up the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Both
DNA and RNA have nitrogenous bases. The five common nitrogenous bases are adenine (A),
guanine (G), cytosine(C), thymine (T), and uracil (U).
Functions
DNA contains the genetic instructions for the development and functioning of organisms. This
genetic information is converted by the RNA into amino acid sequences of proteins. RNA has three
types, messenger RNA (mRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and transfer RNA (tRNA). The mRNA
carries the genetic sequence information between the DNA and ribosomes. In ribosomes, proteins
are synthesized. The rRNA catalyzes the peptide bond formation while the tRNA serve as the carrier
molecules of the amino acids that make up the protein.
Try it!
Give 3 examples of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
What do you think?

Why are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids considered as the molecules of life?
Key Points
 Carbohydrates are molecules that are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They
have a general formula of CnH2nOn. Their functions are to store energy and serve as the
framework of cellular structures.
 Lipids are large, nonpolar biomolecules mainly composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
They function as reserved sources of energy and protective coating of organisms.
 Proteins are biomolecules composed of amino acid units. The sequence of amino acids
determines the protein’s shape and function. In the body, proteins hasten chemical
reactions, transport substances, and provide structural support.
 Nucleic acids are biomolecules that are made up of repeating units of nucleotides, which
are made up of a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. They encode,
transmit, and express genetic information.

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