Biol/Chem 472 Biochemistry Winter Quarter 2008
Instructor: S. Anthony-Cahill
tel: 650-3152; email: sacahill@chem.wwu.edu
Office CB440; OFFICE HOURS: M 1-2pm; T 11am-noon; W 12-1pm; R 10-11am
Course Web site: http://atom.chem.wwu.edu/sacahill/472/
Lecture: MWF
Exams/Grading: Two midterms @ 100 pts each: 6:00-8:00pm Wed 2/6; Thu 2/28. Final exam (cumulative) @ 100 pts 10:30am-12:30pm Tue 3/18. In addition to the three exams there will be six quizzes @ 15 pt each. The quizzes will be mostly take-home and are due at the beginning of the lecture. The second quiz will have an in-class portion. The total points for the course come to 390. There are no make-up exams or quizzes. If you can’t take an exam (or quiz) at the assigned time, see me prior to the exam to set up an alternate time. You must have a compelling (and legitimate) reason to request an alternate exam time, and you must make such arrangements with me prior to the exam. Problem assignments from your textbook will not be collected/graded. These assignments are made to aid you in your study of Biochemistry and it is highly recommended that you prepare for exams by working the suggested problems. I encourage you to work together on take-home quizzes; however, in-class quizzes and exams are to be your own work. NOTE: Students are advised to read pages 40 and 389-390 of the 2007-2008 University Bulletin re: the Academic Dishonesty Policy. I will enforce this policy if necessary.
Text: Voet and Voet (“Voet”), "Biochemistry" 3rd Edition, is required. I highly recommend that you prepare for lectures by reading the relevant material in Voet prior to the first lecture on the given topic (see tentative lecture schedule). Some of the problems in Voet will be recommended as homework assignments. It will be utterly impossible to cram 4 weeks worth of reading and problem solving into a night of studying before an exam. The best advice I can give you is: keep up with reading and working the problems. Supplementary reading may be assigned on given topics. Copies of relevant articles will be made available.
Other Useful Resources:
There are several web-based resources that provide detailed info on metabolic
pathways. For example: http://www.gwu.edu/~mpb/index.html. I encourage you to attend research seminars
whenever possible. Chemistry Dept. seminars are Fridays at
Course content: Metabolism, metabolism, metabolism. Conversion of nutrients to energy transducers and simple biomolecular building blocks. Conversion of metabolic intermediates into biomolecular building blocks and energy storage molecules. THERMODYNAMICS!!! Pathways, regulation, pathogenesis. We will attempt to cover chapters 16-18, 20-23, 25, 26 in Voet. This involves reading about 350 pages of Biochemistry. You should allow several hours/week for reading and problem solving.
My expectations: Metabolism is the historical heart of biochemistry and like other topics in this vast field it is very complex. An understanding of metabolic processes is the gateway to a detailed understanding of “the living state” and has great relevance to human health and disease. We will not be able to cover all of intermediary metabolism and we will certainly not discuss details of secondary metabolic processes (e.g. xenobiotic biosynthesis); however, it is my goal to help you to develop the intellectual tools you will need to study and understand any metabolic pathway. These include: (1) an understanding of the mechanistic organic chemistry of enzymatic reactions, (2) the thermodynamics of the pathway, (3) regulation of the flux through the pathway, (4) integration of the pathway with other cellular processes. I therefore will expect you to: (1) draw enzymatic reactions correctly (i.e., show electron movement with curly arrows), (2) correctly calculate DGº’ and DG for a given step or a series of steps in a pathway, (3) rationalize and/or predict features of pathway regulation and describe regulatory mechanisms (e.g., allostery, covalent modification, cascades), (4) recognize how concentrations of metabolites are regulated (e.g., flux, transport across membranes) and the impact that changes in flux and/or concentration will have on other processes.
Advice: Work the suggested problems. Avail yourself of the help I can offer during my office hours. Work on take-home quizzes with study partners, and prepare for these sessions (i.e., read the book, work problems) rather than showing up cold. Do the reading and the problems every week! I encourage you to ask questions if something doesn’t make sense. The sooner you ask for clarification the better. If you find yourself struggling, DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE DAY BEFORE AN EXAM to see me!