Biomolecules are the primary building blocks of every living organism. Together, they promote different biological processes, which are necessary for life. They vary in structures and sizes. Biomolecules primarily consist of hydrogen and oxygen.
The living systems synthesize four primary types of biomolecules within the body. They are:
With biomolecules definition, it is also important to know that the major types of biomolecules are basically polymers of simple elements. For example:
Some biomolecules can also be combined to get specialized molecules. For example:
Different Types of Biomolecules
Apart from the major biomolecules like carbohydrates, protein, fat and nucleic acids, classification of biomolecules should also involve the mention of smaller biomolecules like natural products, as well as primary and secondary metabolites.
The Details of the Major Types of Biomolecules are Discussed as Follows:
Carbohydrates
It contains a combination of carbon, hydrogen, as well as oxygen. They are present in the ratio of CnH2N. Since sugar is the most fundamental component of almost all types of carbohydrates, they are also called saccharides (as in Greek, sakcharon refers to sugar). Photosynthesis is the primary source of carbohydrates. Almost 80% of a plant’s dry weight is owing to the carbohydrate content in its body.
Examples of carbohydrates include plant starch, animal starch or glycogen, sugar and cellulose. Carbohydrates can further be subdivided into four types. Monosaccharides: They are the polyhydroxy ketones or Polyhydroxy aldehydes that do not break into simpler carbohydrate molecules. Examples include Gulose, Ribose, Glucose, Mannose, Arabinose, Fructose, and the like. Trisaccharides: On hydrolysis, these can give three molecules of monosaccharide. For example, Raffinose (C18H32O16). Oligosaccharides: By means of hydrolysis, these carbohydrates can be broken into 2-9 molecules of monosaccharides. Polysaccharides: They have higher molecular weight and can be split into a number of monosaccharide modules, upon hydrolysis. Example, Cellulose and starch, both having identical molecular formula, that is (C6H10O5)n.
Proteins
Almost 15% of the ‘living’ portion of any cell, or its protoplasm, comprises protein. On an average, every molecule of protein comes with 50–55% carbon, 20–24% oxygen, 16% nitrogen, 7% hydrogen and 0.3 – 0.5% sulphur, along with traces of phosphorus, iron, calcium, iodine and copper.
Different types of proteins have different biomolecules structures. This is because of the variation in the amino acid, which are the organic compounds that combine to form protein molecules. A string of peptides again forms unique peptide bonds. The different types of peptides include polypeptide, tripeptide and dipeptide. Proteins are categorized on the basis of their constitution, shape and functionalities. For example, as per their constituents, proteins can be divided into simple and conjugated protein. As per their shapes, proteins are classified as Scleroprotein/ Fibrous protein and Globular Protein. As per their molecular nature, protein can be divided into Acidic Proteins and Basic Proteins.
Lipids
Lipids are basically esters of alcohol and fatty acid. Lipids can be categorized as the Simple lipids, compound lipids and derived lipids. Simple lipids are the esters of glycerol and fatty acid. They can be subdivided as first Fats and oils, second Fatty Acids- These are again of two types. They include Saturated Fatty Acid and Unsaturated Fatty Acid, third Waxes. Compound Lipids come with an additional element with alcohol and fatty acid. The subtypes include Phospholipids, Chromolipids, Glycolipids and Aminolipids. Derived lipids derived from the hydrolysis of both simple and compound lipids.
Nucleic Acids
It is a term used to collectively refer to DNA and RNA. The size of these biomolecules varies in different organisms. They are made from nucleotides. These compounds have any of the four chemicals Guanine, Thymine, Adenine or Cytosine as a base, starch and phosphate. Nucleic acids vary in their properties, functionalities, structure and even in their location in the cell. The different types of nucleic acids include DNA and RNA. Deoxyribonucleic Acid or DNA is a very significant biological molecule, which has its presence in the living part of the cells. The genetic information of any cell is kept stored as DNA. Ribonucleic acid or RNA is a polymer of ribose, as well as pentose sugar. DNA and RNA work together for most organisms.
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the different types of biomolecules.