Biomolecules are substances produced by biological processes and include nucleic acids, proteins, saccharides, lipids, and nucleotides. Carbon’s ability to bond in long chains allows for the formation of large polymers. Proteins, made up of amino acids, are essential for biological processes. Lipids are important for maintaining cell structure and energy storage. Saccharides are important for energy and structural support. Nucleotides are the building blocks of RNA and DNA and the basis of heredity. Autotrophs can synthesize biomolecules while heterotrophs rely on ingesting them.
The term “biomolecule” refers to a broad category of molecules that includes all substances produced by the biological processes of an organism. These molecules include things like nucleic acids, proteins and saccharides. Biomolecules form the bodies of all living beings and are the causes and products of the chemical processes that keep them alive.
There are a huge number of different biomolecules, ranging from small molecules of just a few atoms to huge, complex structures called macromolecules that can contain thousands or even millions of atoms. Some types of biomolecules are extremely large by molecular standards. This is made possible by one of the properties of carbon, the element on which all known life is based. Carbon atoms can bond together in long repeating chains, with other atoms or groups of atoms attached to the chain, to form extremely long molecules called polymers. These polymers can be composed of hundreds of individual structural units chained together and can also split into multiple branches or be chemically bonded to other polymer chains to form huge structures.
One of the most common and important types of biomolecules is called a protein, a group of macromolecules essential to biological processes in all life forms. They are made up of chains of smaller biomolecules called amino acids. Different types of proteins perform different functions, such as carrying chemical messages from cell to cell, forming structures that hold cells together, and catalyzing chemical reactions that drive the body’s metabolism through specialized proteins called enzymes.
Another group of biomolecules are called lipids, a category that includes substances such as sterols, natural waxes and glycerides, the best known of which are called fats. Lipids are generally smaller than proteins, although they can still contain polymer chains dozens of carbon atoms long. Lipids are important for maintaining cell structure, because a large part of every cell’s cell membrane is made up of them, and they are also a form of energy storage.
Saccharides, also called carbohydrates, are a type of biomolecule containing only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Two groups of saccharides, called monosaccharides and disaccharides, are commonly referred to as sugars. Saccharide molecules are another important group of substances for energy, they are involved in many metabolic processes and are used as structural supports for some organisms, particularly in the form of cellulose in plants.
Nucleotides are a class of biomolecules that consist of saccharides bonded to a phosphate group and one of several possible types of nucleobase, a type of biomolecule based on nitrogen. The resulting compounds include molecules called cofactors that help proteins catalyze metabolic chemical reactions and important cell signaling molecules. Nucleotides are also the primary components of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), making them one of the basic building blocks of life. The genetic information of living beings is encoded in the arrangement of different types of nitrogenous bases on the long nucleotide chains that make up DNA and govern its activities, making nucleotides the basis of heredity.
Not all organisms can produce every type of biomolecule they need on their own. Organisms that can synthesize the biomolecules they need from nonliving matter in the environment, such as plants, algae, and some forms of bacteria, are called autotrophs. Organisms that cannot do this on their own, called heterotrophs, depend on a combination of molecules synthesized in their own bodies and other biomolecules ingested by eating other organisms that contain substances that the heterotroph does not produce itself. This category includes animals, fungi, and some single-celled organisms.
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