Biochemistry III (Plant Processes)

Course CodeBSC302
Fee CodeS3
Duration (approx)100 hours
QualificationTo obtain formal documentation the optional exam(s) must be completed which will incur an additional fee of $36. Alternatively, a letter of completion may be requested.

PLANT BIOCHEMISTRY III - ADVANCE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND CAREER

Thylakoid Membrane.This course will deepen your knowledge on Biochemistry with an emphasis on plants. This is an advanced course in biochemistry that will give you a more thorough understanding on how life processes work, where living organism obtain their energy and nutrients and how these are processed to renew and develop new living materials.

Lessons cover: glycolysis, electron transport, oxidative phosphorylation, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, photosynthesis, nucleotide metabolism, enzymes, reproductive processes, hormones and more

Prerequisites: Biochemistry I and II or equivalent knowledge.        

 
LESSON STRUCTURE

There are eleven lessons in this module as follows:

1. Introduction - Introduction to Metabolism, Energy Transfer within the Cell

2. Glycolysis- ATP, Glycolysis, Pentose Phosphate Pathway

3. Movement Through Membranes - Lipids and Fats, Membranes, Kinetics and Mechanisms of Transport, Ionophores, Aquaporins.

4. Electron Transport and Oxidative Phosphorylation - Mitochondria, Electron Transport, Oxidative Phosphorylation, Citric Acid Cycle, Controls of ATP Production

5. Sugar and Polysaccharide Metabolism - Monosaccharides, Disaccharides, Polysaccharides, Sucrose, Starches, Starch Biosynthesis, Carbohydrate Metabolism, Gluconeogenesis, Cell Wall

6. Lipid Metabolism - Lipids, Fatty Acid Biosynthesis, Glycerolipid and Phospholipid Formation, TAG Formation, Fatty Acid Oxidation, Wound Sealing

7. Photosynthesis- Chloroplasts, Light Reactions, Dark Reactions, Photorespiration, CAM

8. Nucleotide Metabolism - Nucleotides, Nitrogen Fixation, Assimilation of Ammonia into Amino Acids, Formation of Deoxyribonucleotides, Nucleotide Degradation.

9.  Enzyme Activity - Enzyme Classification, Kinetics, Regulation

10. Reproductive Processes in Plants - Sexual and Asexual Reproduction, Gene Expression, RNA and Protein Synthesis, Eukaryotic DNA Replication

11. Other Processes - Hormones, Growth Regulators, Other Hormones, Use of Plant Hormones in Horticulture.

 

Aims

  • Explain the interaction between the various biochemical processes within the plant cell
  • Explain the process of glycolysis.
  • Describe the transport mechanism of bio-chemicals through plant membranes.
  • Explain the processes of electron transfer and oxidative phosphorylation, and their importance to energy regulation in plants.
  • Explain the structure and metabolism of carbohydrates.
  • Explain the metabolism of lipids.
  • Explain the processes of photosynthesis and the role of the light and dark reactions of photosynthesis in the growth of plants.
  • Explain biochemical nucleotide metabolism.
  • Explain enzyme reactions and catalysis in biochemistry.
  • Explain metabolic processes relevant to reproduction in plants.
  • Explain other biochemical processes including biochemical communication through hormones.

How Do Chemicals Move through the Walls of Plant Cells?

Membranes include any barrier surrounding and containing cells or cellular organelles. They are selectively permeable, allowing the transport of molecules and ions within and between cells. This facilitates the separation and regulation of metabolic processes. Plants, fungi and bacteria also have a cell wall outside the cell membrane.  
 

Kinetics and Mechanisms of Transport
 
The movement of solutes through membranes is not yet fully understood and there are different theories to explain the physical process. Nevertheless, it is understood that transport across membranes is a function of what is known as osmotic potential – the tendency for a solution with a lower concentration of solutes (low osmotic potential) to move through a differentially permeable membrane towards a solution with a higher concentration of solutes (high osmotic potential). In other words, a weak solution will move across a membrane towards a strong solution, causing a dilution of the stronger solution. The greater the difference between the two solutions, the faster the process occurs. This process is also described as diffusion, or non-mediated transport.    However, many molecules and ions successfully pass through membranes towards a solution with lower osmotic potential. This occurs with the assistance of carrier molecules, a process known as mediated transport.  
 
There are many different terms used to discuss the movement of molecules which you must become familiar with before your can fully understand the processes of movement:
  • Passive Transport can be either simple diffusion of molecules through the cell membrane, through specific channels or pores, or require the molecules to be carried through the cell membrane by a carrier molecule (mediated diffusion) but does not require energy.  
  • Active Transport is the term used to refer to the movement of molecules when energy is required.  The energy is in the form ATP (ATP is the abbreviated name for Adenosine-tri-phosphate, the form of energy which can be used by cells to perform cellular activity).   
 
 
 
This Course in Brief: 
  • Learn more about biochemical processes in plants
  • Revised material with new easy to follow diagrams and illustrations 
  • Deepen your knowledge of general biochemistry
  • Study how life processes work, where living organism obtain their energy and nutrients and how these are processed to renew and develop new living materials
  • Keep on track with help from experienced science tutors

thylakoid.Lessons cover: glycolysis, electron transport, oxidative phosphorylation, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, photosynthesis, nucleotide metabolism, enzymes, reproductive processes, hormones (and their application to horticulture) and more.

 
 
 
 
 




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