University:
Glendale Community College
Course:
BIO160 | Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology
Academic year:

2022
Views:

340

Pages:

3
Author:

brnknoutel

Section 7.5: The Sugar Code §Living organisms require large coding capacities for information transfer §Profound complexity of functioning systems §To succeed as a coding mechanism, a class of molecules must have a large capacity for variation §Glycosylation is the most important posttranslational modification in terms of coding capacity §More possibilities with hexasaccharides than hexapeptides §In addition to their immense combinatorial possibilities; relatively inflexible, perfect for precise ligand binding §Lectins §Lectins, or carbohydrate-binding proteins, are involved in translating the sugar code §Bind specifically to carbohydrates via hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, and hydrophobic interactions Section 7.5: The Sugar Code §Lectins Continued §Biological processes include binding to microorganisms, binding to toxins, and involved in leukocyte rolling Figure 7.39 Role of Oligosaccharides in Biological Recognition Section 7.5: The Sugar Code §The Glycome §Total set of sugars and glycans in a cell or organism §Constantly in flux depending on the cell’s response to environment §There is no template for glycan biosynthesis; it is done in a stepwise process §Glycoforms can result based upon slight variations in glycan composition of each glycoprotein