Advantages of Polymer Synthesis from Monomers for Cells

[bard]

Hi,

Why is it better for a cell to synthesize polymers such as proteins carbohydrates by linking together monomers than to synthesize them from scratch>

I believe it is because it would take too much energy to link them together from scratch. Since they already have these monomers the cell dosent have to waste energy.

 

[Gonzolo]

Until a specialist comes along...

IMO, you answered your own question. The monomers are there, they are available, they have nothing better to do, so they link themselves together to form the macromolecule.

 

[Moonbear]

Yes, bard, you seem to have the right answer. Did you need any further explanation on that, or did you just want to check your answer?

 

[bard]

I was hoping for a further explanation of why they save energy by this process. Thank You

 

[kalladin]

Are sugars actually broken down into their elemental constituents after digestion? If they don't, it would be logical to use the already-existing monomers to reconstitute carbohydrates and starches.

Another thing that puzzles me greatly is why does N-linked glycosylation (is it N, or is it O?) employ the use of dolichol which transfers a chain of sugars en masse to the amino acid residue? That seems like an awful waste of energy if you ask me...