1. Introduction to Biochemistry
Biochemistry in Agriculture
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

2. What is Biochemistry ?
Biochemistry = chemistry of life or the chemical basis of life.
Biochemists use physical and chemical principles to explain biology at the molecular level.
The science concerned with the various molecules that occur in living cells and organisms, and their chemical reactions.
The basic principles of biochemistry are common to all living organism
How the remarkable properties of living organisms arise from the thousands of different lifeless biomolecules following the physical and chemical laws that govern the nonliving universe.
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

3. How does Biochemistry impact us ?
Medicine
Agriculture
Industrial applications
Environmental applications
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

4. Principal Areas of Biochemistry
Structure and function of biological macromolecules
Metabolism – anabolic and catabolic processes.
Molecular Genetics – How life is replicated. Regulation of protein synthesis
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

5. Once upon a time, long long ago…..
Vitalism: idea that substances and processes associated with living organisms did not behave according to the known laws of physics and chemistry, living things are alive because of some special "vital force"
Evidence:
Only living things have a high degree of complexity
Only living things extract, transform and utilize energy from their environment
Only living things are capable of self-assembly and self-replication
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

6. Origins of Biochemistry
Biochemicals can only be produced by living organisms
Friedrich Wohler (1828) is regarded as a pioneer in organic chemistry.
Known for synthesizing urea in vitro.
This discovery was celebrated as a rejection of vitalism, the hypothesis that living things are alive because of some special "vital force".
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

7. Complex bioconversion of chemical substances require living matter
Emil Fischer, postulated Lock and Key analogy in 1894,
he was awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry, well known for his work on sugars & purines.
Eduard Buchner, was awarded 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry  for his work on fermentation.
Glucose + Dead Yeast = Alcohol

8. He was also the first to prove that enzymes are proteins.
J.B. Sumner was awarded 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, known for his discovery that enzymes can be crystallized.
He was also the first to prove that enzymes are proteins.
1928 Griffith - transformation in bacterial
1941 Beadle & Tatum – one gene one enzyme
Avery, MacLeod and McCarty identified DNA as information molecules
Watson and Crick proposed the double helical structure of DNA
Sanger sequenced insulin- won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1956
Meselson & Stahl- semiconservative replication of DNA
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

9. 1958 Kornberg- isolated DNA polymerase-I from E. coli
Crick proposed the central dogma of life
1959 Ochoa – discovered RNA polymerase
1970 Nathan & Smith- Restriction endonucleases
1970 Baltimore- Reverse transcriptase
1977 Sanger & Gilbert for sequencing of DNA, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980
Kary Mullis invented PCR method- won Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993
1983 Cech & Altman- Catalytic RNAs (Ribozyme)
1988 Watson was appointed as Coordinator of the Human Genome Project
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

10. Organization of Life Elements Simple organic compounds (monomers)
Macromolecules (polymers)
Supramolecular structures
Organelles
Cells
Tissues
Organs
Organisms
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

11. Classification of organism
according to their source of energy
Organism
Phototroph
(energy from light)
Chemotroph
(energy from chemical compounds
Autotroph
(carbon from CO2)
Examples:
Cyanobacteria
Plants
Heterootroph
(carbon from organic compounds)
Examples:
Purple bacteria
Green bacteria
Heterootroph
(carbon from organic compounds)
Lithoootroph
(energy from inorganic compounds)
Examples:
Sulfur bacteria
Hydrogen bacteria
Organotroph
(energy from organic compounds)
Examples:
Most prokaryotes
Non-phototrophic eukaryotes

12. Range of the sizes of objects studied by Biochemists and Biologists
1 angstrom = 0.1 nm
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

13. Approaches to understand the biological process
In vitro (“ in glass” – in the test tube)
In vitro studies may overlook important interactions among molecules
In vivo (“inside the living system”)
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

14. Periodic Table Elements of Life
Most abundant, essential for all organisms: C, N, O, P, S, H
Less abundant, essential for all organisms: Na, Mg, K, Ca, Cl
Trace levels, essential for all organism : Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn
Trace levels, essential for some organism : V, Cr, Mo, B, Al, Ga, Sn, Si, As, Se, I
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

15. Compounds & Functional groups
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

16. Many Important Biomolecules are Polymers
Monomer
Polymer
Supramolecular
structure
Lipids
Proteins
Carbohyd.
Nucleic acids
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

17. Macromolecules may further assembled into supramolecular complexes, forming functional units such as Ribosome.
Proteins and RNAs combine together to form ribosome, a functional unit.
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

18. Common Theme Metabolism Monomers form polymers through condensation
Anabolism
Catabolism
Polymers are broken down through hydrolysis
Metabolism
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

19. Prokaryote Cell History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

20. Eukaryote Cells Animal cell Plant cell
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

21. Mitochondria History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Mitochondrion. Mitochondria are the main sites of energy transduction in aerobic eukaryotic cells. Carbohydrates, fatty acids, and amino acids are metabolized in this organelle.
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

22. Chloroplast History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Chloroplast. Chloroplasts are the sites of photosynthesis in plants and algae. Light energy is captured by pigments associated with the thylakoid membrane and used to convert carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates.
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI

23. Transgenic Plant/ Animal
Genetic engineering
Transgenic Plant/ Animal
Clone
Green Fluorescence protein

24. HGP: from 1990, completed in 2003

25. What dose the Biochemistry discuss?
Structure and function of cellular components
proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules
Metabolism and Regulation
Gene expression and its modulation
DNA RNA Protein
History of Agriculture, (PGS506)
Dr. Suresh Kumar, Pr. Sci., Biochemistry, IARI