CHEM206 - Advanced Metabolic Biochemistry

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

CHEM204 Biochemistry OR CHEM201 Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry

Incompatible

CHEM104 Biochemistry

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit is designed to provide students with a broad theoretical and practical understanding of the metabolic biochemistry that underpins courses in general science, biomedical and plant biology. It will build on basic concepts developed in biochemistry and will focus on the study of important molecular control and modulation of cell processes. Key topics will include enzyme production and control, the metabolic process and how it is affected by different physiological states (e.g., dieting and exercise). This unit aims to develop students technical and communication skills through the use of instrumentation in practical settings and through the analysis of scientific findings and preparation of written reports.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics will include:  

• Metabolic pathways and their regulation 
• The Citric Acid Cycle as the common metabolic pathway, the role of oxidation-reduction reactions in energy transfer, the electron transport chain and chemiosmosis.  
• Respiration and catabolic pathways: glycolysis, fermentation, glycogenolysis, fatty acid b-oxidation, amino acid deamination, the urea cycle.  
• Biosynthetic and anabolic pathways: gluconeogenesis, glycogenesis, amino acid biosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, membrane lipid biosynthesis.  
• Control of metabolic pathways under normal nutrition, starvation, diabetes and other metabolic diseases, anaerobic exercise, weight gain and dieting: the Cori cycle, ketone bodies,  
• Essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals in the diet,  
• Allosteric enzymes and metabolic pathway (feedback control)Quality control and quality assurance in laboratory measurement in Biomedical 

Photosynthesis: The structure of the chloroplast, chlorophylls, light reactions, dark reactions, Calvin cycle, photorespiration and C4 cycle.  

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Teaching hours per week: 2 hours of lecture, 1 hour of tutorial, and a 3 hour practical class.

This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in their development of an increasingly complex and integrated understanding of biochemistry. Students are provided with weekly lectures where their questions and active participation are encouraged; this will assist them in acquiring the essential knowledge to understand this diverse subject area.

Students are expected to attend and participate in weekly practical classes. In these classes, group work is encouraged; peer learning is an essential component of assisting in the development of understanding. These classes provide students with valuable opportunities to have a ‘hands on’ participation in their learning. Tasks such as protein isolation and separation provide students with opportunities to deepen their understanding of the application of theory.

Students are also expected to attend and participate in weekly tutorial classes. These classes also encourage group work and discussion. They reinforce key concepts first introduced in lectures, allowing students another, more intimate, opportunity to engage with the material.

In addition to the formal face-to-face classes, this unit further supports student learning by providing extensive online material via the Learning Management System (LMS). This includes relevant links to external material such as online videos and additional useful material, catering to a variety of learning preferences. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

This unit is generally taken as a second-year unit. The assessment strategy is designed to assist students in meeting the learning outcomes in a stepwise fashion. Students are encouraged to work consistently throughout the semester and regular feedback is provided to guide their studies.

Regular, short tests assess different aspects of the course content. Timely feedback is provided to enable improved performance on the next attempt. These tests help prepare students for the final exam, having questions of the same standard as those on the exam.

The practical assessment allows students an opportunity to display their growing understanding of laboratory-based work and involves data collection, processing, interpretation, and comprehension of concepts covered in practical activities. 

The final exam assesses material from all content areas. Having been provided with feedback from the earlier assessments, students should now be able to address misunderstandings and conceptual difficulties identified from these earlier tasks and show that they have now met these learning outcomes.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Appling, D. R., Anthony-Cahill, S.J. and Mathews, C.K. (2019) Biochemistry: Concepts and Connections. 2nd ed. Prentice Hall. 

Baynes, J.W. and Dominiczak, M.H. (2022) Medical Biochemistry. 6th ed. Elsevier Publishers. 

Bettelheim, F.A., Brown, W.H., Campbell, M. K., Farrell, S., and Torres, O.J., (2019) Introduction to General, Organic and Biochemistry. 12th ed. Thomson Brook/Cole Publishers.

Moran, L.A., Horton R.A., Scrimgeour, G., Perry, M. and Rawn, D. (2013) Principles of Biochemistry: Pearson New International Edition. 5th ed. Pearson, Prentice Hall.

Voet, D., Voet, J.G and Pratt, C.W. (2016) Fundamentals of Biochemistry: Life at the Molecular Level. 5th ed. John Wiley & Sons.