Biosynthesis

Definition

Biosynthesis is chemical synthesis occurring in biological contexts. It most often refers to multi-step, enzyme-catalyzed processes where chemical substances absorbed as nutrients serve as enzyme substrates, with conversion by the living organism either into simpler or more complex products. Examples of biosynthetic pathways include those for the production of amino acids, lipid membrane components, and nucleotides, but also for the production of all classes of biological macromolecules, and of acetyl-coenzyme A, adenosine triphosphate, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and other key intermediate and transactional molecules needed for metabolism. Thus, in biosynthesis, any of an array of compounds, from simple to complex, are converted into other compounds, and so it includes both the anabolism and catabolism of complex molecules. Biosynthetic processes are often represented via charts of metabolic pathways. A particular biosynthetic pathway may be located within a single cellular organelle, while others involve enzymes that are located across an array of cellular organelles and structures.

Related concepts

2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate N-succinyltransferase 2-oxoglutarate 3-phospho-D-glycerate 4-hydroxy-tetrahydrodipicolinate synthase 5'-phosphoribosyl-4-carboxy-5-aminoimidazole 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate 5-(carboxyamino)imidazole ribonucleotide mutase 5-Aminoimidazole ribotide 5-Formamidoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide 5-phosphoribosylamine AICAR transformylase AICA ribonucleotide AIR synthetase (FGAM cyclase)Acetate Acetyl-CoA Acetyl-coenzyme A Acetyl CoA Acetylated Acetylglutamate kinase Acetylornithine deacetylase Acetylornithine transaminase Actinide chemistry Activation energy Acyl coenzyme a Acylation Acyltransferase Adenosine Adenosine deaminase Adenosine triphosphate Adenylosuccinate lyase Agricultural chemistry Alchemy Alkane stereochemistry Alpha-aminoadipate pathway Alpha-carbon Amateur chemistry Amide Amidophosphoribosyltransferase Amine Amino acid Amino acid synthesis Amino acids Amino group Aminoacyl-tRNA Aminoacyl tRNA synthetase Ammonia Amphipathic Anabolism Analytical chemistry Anticodon Archaeal translation Arginine Argininosuccinate Artificial gene synthesis Asparagine synthetase Aspartate Aspartate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase Aspartate aminotransferase Aspartate carbamoyltransferase Aspartate kinase Astrochemistry Atherosclerotic plaques Atmospheric chemistry Atom Atom cluster Bacterial translation Base pair Bilayer Biochemistry Biogeochemistry Bioinorganic chemistry Biomembrane Biomimetic synthesis Bioorganic chemistry Bioorganometallic chemistry Bioorthogonal chemistry Biophysical chemistry Bioretrosynthesis Biosynthesis of cobalamin CO2 CTP synthase Calorimetry Carbamoyl phosphate Carbamoyl phosphate synthase Carbochemistry Carbohydrate chemistry Carboxyl Carboxyl group Catabolism Catalysis Catalyst Cell biology Cell nucleus Central nervous system Ceramic chemistry Ceramic engineering Ceramide Characterization (materials science)Chemical biology Chemical bond Chemical compound Chemical element Chemical energy Chemical engineering Chemical kinetics Chemical physics Chemical reaction Chemical substance Chemical synthesis Chemical thermodynamics Chemistry Chemistry education Chemosynthesis (nanotechnology)Chiral center Chirality (chemistry)Chlorophyllide Cholesterol Chromatography Citrulline Clandestine chemistry Clay chemistry Click chemistry Clinical chemistry Codon degeneracy Codon table Codons Coenzymes Cognitive Combinatorial chemistry Computational chemistry Condensation reaction Convergent synthesis Coordination complex Cortisol Cosmochemistry Covalently Cryochemistry Crystallography Custom peptide synthesis Cyclic compound Cysteine Cysteine synthase Cytidine triphosphate Cytoplasm Cytosine Cytosol DATP DNA DNA ligase DNA polymerases DNA replication DNA supercoil DTMP DUMP Deoxy Deoxyadenosine Deoxyguanosine Deoxyribonucleotide Deoxyribose Dephosphorylation Diacylglycerol 3-phosphate Diaminopimelate decarboxylase Diaminopimelate epimerase Dihydrodipicolinate reductase Dihydroorotase Dihydroorotate Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase Direct process Discovery of chemical elements Divergent synthesis Dynamic covalent chemistry Electroanalytical methods Electrochemistry Electron ionization Electrosynthesis Elemental analysis Enantioselective synthesis Endocytosis Endoplasmic reticulum Environmental chemistry Enzyme Equilibrium chemistry Estrogen Ethanol Eukaryotes Eukaryotic Eukaryotic translation Familial hypercholesterolemia Fatty acid Fatty acids Femtochemistry Flavin adenine dinucleotide Food chemistry Food physical chemistry Forensic chemistry Forensic toxicology Formyl group Fullerene chemistry Fully automated synthesis Functional group GAR transformylase GOGAT Gamma-carboxylation Gas chromatography General chemistry Geochemistry Gliosis Glossary of chemical formulae Glutamate Glutamate-5-semialdehyde dehydrogenase Glutamate 5-kinase Glutamate N-acetyltransferase Glutamate dehydrogenase Glutamine Glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase Glutamine synthetase Glycine Glycineamide ribonucleotide Glycolysis Glycolytic Glyconeogenesis Glycosidic bond Gout Green chemistry Green plants Guanosine Helicase High-performance liquid chromatography Histidine History of chemistry Huntingtin Huntington's disease Hydrocarbon Hydrolysis Hydrophilic Hydrophobic Hydrothermal synthesis Hydroxyl group Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase Imidazole Immunological memory Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry Infrared spectroscopy Inner mitochondrial membrane Inorganic chemistry Inosine monophosphate Inosine monophosphate synthase Instrumental chemistry Interdisciplinarity Interface and colloid science Ion Isoleucine Isopentenyl pyrophosphate Johan Jansonius Kinase L-serine LDL Lagging strand Laser ablation synthesis in solution Leading strand Lesch–Nyhan syndrome Leucine Lipid Lipid bilayer Lipid membrane Lipids List of biomolecules List of inorganic compounds Lysine Lysophosphatidate MRNA Macromolecules Magnetochemistry Mammal Mass spectrometry Materials science Mathematical chemistry Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Mechanochemistry Mechanosynthesis Medicinal chemistry Meso-diaminopimelic acid Meso form Metabolic pathway Metabolism Metal ions Metallurgy Methionine Methyl Microbes Micromeritics Microwave chemistry Mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis Molecular biology Molecular dynamics Molecular geometry Molecular mechanics Molecular modelling Molecular physics Molecule Monomers Myelin sheath N-acetyl-gamma-glutamyl-phosphate reductase N-acetylglutamate synthase NADH NADPH Nanochemistry Neurochemistry Neurological Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide Nitrogen assimilation Nobel Prize in Chemistry Noncovalent bonding Nuclear chemistry Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy Nucleic acid Nucleic acid metabolism Nucleophilic attack Nucleotide Nucleotide triphosphates Nucleotides O-acetyl-L-serine OMP decarboxylase Ocean chemistry Okazaki fragments One-pot synthesis Organelle Organic chemistry Organic reactions Organic synthesis Organolanthanide chemistry Organometallic chemistry Ornithine Orotate Orotidine 5'-monophosphate Outer mitochondrial membrane Oxaloacetate Oxidation reaction Oxidizes PRPP Palmitoyl CoA Peptide bond Peptide bonds Peptide synthesis Periodic table Petrochemistry Pharmacology Phenylalanine Phosopholipid bilayer Phosphate Phosphates Phosphatidate Phosphodiester bonds Phosphodiester bridges Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase Phosphohydroxypyruvic acid Phospholipid Phospholipids Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate Phosphoribosylaminoimidazolesuccinocarboxamide Phosphoribosylaminoimidazolesuccinocarboxamide synthase Phosphoryl Phosphoserine Phosphoserine aminotransferase Phosphoserine phosphatase Photochemistry Photoelectrochemistry Photogeochemistry Physical chemistry Physical organic chemistry Polymer chemistry Polymer science Polypeptide Porphyrin Post-mortem chemistry Precursor (chemistry)Primase Product (chemistry)Prokaryotic Proline Prostaglandin Protein translocation Proteinogenic amino acid Proteinogenic amino acids Proteins Purine Pyrimidine Pyrophosphate Pyruvate Pyruvic acid Quantum chemistry Quantum mechanics RNA RNA polymerase Radiation chemistry Radiochemistry Radiosynthesis Raman spectroscopy Reactants Reaction intermediate Reaction mechanism Reaction rate Receptor (biochemistry)Release factor Replication fork Retrosynthetic analysis Ribonucleoside-triphosphate reductase Ribonucleotide Ribose Ribosomes Ring-closure reaction Rna primer Self mutilation Semiconservative replication Semisynthesis Separation process Serine Serine O-acetyltransferase Serine hydroxymethyltransferase Severe combined immunodeficiency Single-strand binding protein Soil chemistry Solid-phase synthesis Solid-state chemistry Solvothermal synthesis Sonochemistry Spectroelectrochemistry Spectroscopy Sphingolipid Sphingolipids Sphingomyelin Sphingosine Spin chemistry Squalene Stellar chemistry Stereochemistry Steroid Sterols Stoichiometry Stop codon Structural chemistry Substrate (biochemistry)Substrate (chemistry)Succinyl-diaminopimelate desuccinylase Succinyldiaminopimelate transaminase Sulfur Supramolecular chemistry Surface science TRNA T cells Template strand Testosterone Tetrahydrodipicolinate N-acetyltransferase Tetrahydrofolate The central science Theoretical chemistry Thermochemistry Threonine Thymidylate synthetase Thymine Timeline of chemistry Titration Topoisomerase Total synthesis Translation (biology)Trinucleotide repeat Tryptophan Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy Uracil Uridine monophosphate Uridine triphosphate VSEPR theory Valine Volume combustion synthesis Wet chemistry Α-ketoglutarate

66 concepts already in your glossary