BIO101: Detailed Report on Glycogen Structure and Metabolism

This report provides a comprehensive overview of glycogen, a multi-branched polysaccharide that serves as a crucial energy storage form in humans, animals, fungi, and bacteria. The report details glycogen's structure, composed of linear chains of glucose with an average chain length of 10-14 glucose units, and its primary storage locations in the liver and muscle cells. It explains the process of glycogen breakdown to release individual glucose molecules for ATP production. The report also mentions the presence of glycogen in other body parts such as the excretory organ, red blood cells, white blood cells, and glial cells in the brain. The provided references include sources such as books and journals. The report also contains illustrations of the glycogen structure and the breakdown of the molecule.

STRUCTURE OF
GLYCOGEN

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................2

INTRODUCTION Glycogen is a multi-branched polyose of aldohexose which is
serving as a form of energy storehouse in human beings, animals, fungi and bacteria.
This polysaccharide structures is the main storage form of glucose in the organic
structure (Angelini, 2017). Majorly in the cells of liver and muscle glycogen is made
and stored in humans. About 5-6% of glycogen can be stored in liver from the whole
weight of it and around 70kg can be stored in adult liver. In low concentration of 1-
2% only glycogen is found in human skeletal muscle from the total muscle mass and
70kg of skeletal muscle of an adult which stores 400 grams (Gusarov and Nudler,
2017). Small amount of glycogen is also found in the rest body parts like excretory
organ, red blood cells or RBC, white blood cells or WBC and glial cells in the brain
and at the time of pregnancy to nourish the embryo uterus also stores glycogen.
Illustration 1: Structure of Glycogen[Source:
Structure of Glycogen. 2017]
Structure of GlycogenWith the average chain length of 10-14 glucose units
glycogen is a branched biopolymer comprising linear chains of glucose. Starch just
like glycogen is composed of individual glucose monomers joined together (Saleh and
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Lange, 2017). And glycogen starch is broken down to release individual glucose
molecules that can use to build ATP.
Illustration 2: Molecule broke down[Source:
Molecule broke down. 2017]
REFERENCES
Books and journals:
Angelini, C., 2017. Polyglucosan Body Myopathy Type 2. In Genetic Neuromuscular
Disorders (pp. 265-268). Springer, Cham.
Gusarov, I., and Nudler, E., 2017. Glycogen controls Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan
and resistance to oxidative stress. Nature Communications. 8.
p.ncomms15868.
Saleh, M., and Lange, C. M., 2017. THU-299-Identification of glycogen synthase
kinase 3 beta as a novel host factor of hepatitis C virus replication. Journal
of Hepatology. 66(1). pp.S321-S322.
Online
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Molecule broke down, 2017 [Online] Accessed through
<https://www.google.co.in/search?
q=how+this+molecule+is+broken+down+to+create+monomers&client=ubun
tu&channel=fs&dcr=0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiV2
7jL86nXAhWLLo8KHbStBEsQ_AUICigB&biw=731&bih=777#imgrc=t-
zjXew4JGed7M:>
Structure of Glycogen, 2017 [Online] Accessed through
<https://www.google.co.uk/search?
q=structure+of+glycogen&biw=781&bih=868&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa
=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBqKio8KnXAhXDNY8KHfKMBR0Q_AUICigB#imgr
c=8pqfb9jZYzvXFM:>
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