The Building Blocks of Life: Macromolecules

Hello Bio Students,

We managed to get most of you on field trips just before the shutdown of our federal government, which means you have had a taste of real scientific fieldwork!  If you recall, our group learned about the importance of decomposers such as Bacteria, Fungi, Benthic Macroinvertibrates, and Cave Fauna, in various ecosystems and why decomposition is considered a key process.  But what is the end production of decomposition?  Are these newly composting compounds all being turned into the same substances?

Yes and No

Sometimes decomposition breaks organic molecules all the way down into small inorganic molecules (we call this mineralization).  Another possibility is that organic molecules are broken down into smaller organic molecules.  Somewhere on that continuum of decomposition lies molecules whose size and structures are similar to the macromolecules we are discussing in class:  Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Carbohydrates, and Lipids.

• Check out this great link for more information about macromolecules
• This one too