Students will have to learn and be tested on the following information laid out in the curriculum*. All information can be accessed in the resources and lecture videos listed below the curriculum.
Goals:
Students are expected to know the important principles of inter and intramolecular interactions, enzyme catalysis, thermodynamics, and pH.
Students are also expected to know the structures and functions of important biochemical metabolites, including amino acids, monosaccharides, nucleic acids and the general structures of fatty acids, triacylglycerols, membrane lipids and cholesterol.
Students are expected to know the following pathways in depth:
- Glycolysis
- Gluconeogenesis §
- TCA cycle
- Glycogen synthesis and catabolism
- Urea cycle
- Replication
- Transcription
- Translation
Students should also have an appreciation for the function and the committed and regulated steps of the following pathways and processes:
- Major buffering systems
- Heme synthesis and catabolism
- Pentose phosphate pathway
- Fatty acid synthesis and catabolism
- Amino acid synthesis and catabolism
- Nucleic acid synthesis and catabolism
- Membrane lipid formation, including cholesterol synthesis and derivatives
- Lipid transport
Lecture Topics:
1 Introduction to the Course Basic Biochemical Concepts
2 Basic Principles II Four classes of Macromolecules, Inter- and Intra-molecular Interactions
3 Polar Nature of Water, Acid Base Chemistry, Buffers
4 Basic Thermodynamics
5 The Central Dogma
6 Amino Acids Structure and function
7 Protein Structure Hierarchy
8 Protein Folding, Degradation, Amyloidosis
9 Exploring Topics in Homology
10 Myoglobin and Hemoglobin Structure, Function, Pathology
Exam 1
11 Heme Synthesis, Degradation, Clinical Importance Of Bilirubin
12 Enzymes I: Nomenclature, Kinetics
13 Enzymes II: Kinetics continued, Profile of Carbonic Anhydrase, Enzyme Regulation
14 Vitamins, Coenzymes, Cofactors
15 Carbohydrate Structure and Nomenclature
16 Glycolysis I: Glucose as a Fuel Source
17 Glycolysis II: The Use of Other Fuel Sources
18 Gluconeogenesis
19 The Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex, Overview of the TCA Cycle
Exam 2
20 TCA Cycle, Enzymes and Regulation
21 Electron Transport Chain
22 ATP Synthesis, Mitochondrial poisons
23 Glycogen Metabolism I
24 Glycogen Metabolism: Regulation
25 Pentose Phosphate Pathway
26 Lipids I: Fatty Acid Catabolism
27 Lipids II: Additional topics in Fatty Acid Oxidation
28 Lipids III: Steroid Synthesis
29 Lipids IV: Cholesterol Transport
30 Lipids V: TAG and Phospholipid Synthesis
Exam 3
31 Protein Metabolism; The Urea Cycle
32 Amino Acid Metabolism
33 Nucleic Acid Metabolism I: Nucleotide Structure, Function and Synthesis I
34 Nucleic Acid Metabolism I: Synthesis II; Pathology
35 DNA Structure II; Replication I
36 Replication II: Mutation and Repair
37 Transcription
38 Transcriptional Regulation
39 Translation
40 Metabolism Overview
Exam 4/Final Exam
*This curriculum was derived from the Biochemistry course curriculum at Michigan State University.