Biosynthesis

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌbaɪoʊˈsɪn.θə.sɪs/

Definitions

1. The mechanism through which organisms create complex biological materials from simpler molecular components using biochemical reactions
2. A biological process where cells convert basic inorganic substances into intricate organic compounds via enzymatic activity
3. The process by which living organisms produce complex organic compounds from simple precursors through a series of enzyme-mediated reactions

Etymology: Biosynthesis is a plain compound, built from "bio-" and "synthesis," and the surprise lies in how old its parts are. "Bio-" comes from the Ancient Greek "bíos," meaning "life," a root that also gave English "biography" and "biology." "Synthesis" comes from the Greek "súnthesis," literally a "putting together," formed from "sún" ("together") and "tithénai" ("to place"). Greek speakers used it for arranging things into a whole, and the word passed into Latin as "synthesis" before English borrowed it. Modern English combined the two pieces to describe a chemical idea that no Greek writer could have imagined. The term refers to the process by which living cells build complex molecules from simpler ones, so a plant assembling sugar from carbon dioxide and water is performing biosynthesis. The word is a modern scientific coinage, put together from classical parts rather than inherited from antiquity.

Synonyms: biochemical synthesis, metabolic synthesis