Nucleic Acids

AP Biology

2006-2007

Nucleic Acids

Function:

genetic material
stores information genes blueprint for building proteins

DNA RNA proteins

DNA

transfers information blueprint for new cells blueprint for next generation

AP Biology proteins

G T A A C G T C G A

T C

AP Biology

Nucleic Acids Examples:

RNA (ribonucleic acid)

single helix

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

double helix

Structure:

monomers = nucleotides

AP Biology

DNA

RNA

Nucleotides 3 parts

pentose sugar (5C)

ribose in RNA deoxyribose in DNA

nitrogen base (C-N ring) phosphate (PO4) group The P groups make the links that unite the sugars (hence a sugar-phosphate backbone AP Biology

Nitrogen base Im the A,T,C,G or U part!

NUCLEOTIDE STRUCTURE
PHOSPATE GROUP SUGAR Ribose or Deoxyribose

BASE
PURINES PYRIMIDINE S

Adenine (A) Cytocine (C) Guanine(G) Thymine (T) Uracil (U)

NUCLEOTIDE

The base is attached to the carbon atom 1 and the phosphate group to carbon atom 5 of the pentose sugar

AP Biology

Pentose Sugars
There are two related pentose sugars: - RNA contains ribose - DNA contains deoxyribose

Spot the difference

RIBOSE DEOXYRIBOSE

CH2OH

OH

CH2OH

OH

C H

C H

H
C OH

H C OH

H
C OH

H C H

2007 Paul Billiet ODWS

(depending on the sugar they contain)

Two types of Nucleotides

1- Ribonucleic acids (RNA) The pentose sugar is Ribose (has a hydroxyl group in the 3rd carbon-OH) 2- Deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) The pentose sugar is Deoxyribose (has just an hydrogen in the same place-H) Deoxy = minus oxygen

DNA Nucleotides Composition (3 parts):

1- Deoxyribose sugar (no O in 3rd carbon) 2- Phosphate group 3- One of 4 types of bases (all containing nitrogen): - Adenine - Thymine (Only in DNA) - Cytosine - Guanine

Composition ( 3 parts):
1- Ribose sugar (with O in 3rd carbon) 2- Phosphate group 3- One of 4 types of bases (all containing nitrogen): - Adenine - Uracyl (only in RNA) - Cytosine - Guanine

RNA Nucleotides

Nitrogenous bases

Purine = AG Pure silver!

2 different nitrogenous bases purines

double ring N base adenine (A)

guanine (G)

pyrimidines
single ring N base

cytosine (C)
thymine (T) uracil (U)
AP Biology

Purines

Pyrimidines

THE SUGAR-PHOSPHATE BACKBONE

The nucleotides are all orientated in the same direction The phosphate group joins the 3rd Carbon of one sugar to the 5th Carbon of the next in line.
2007 Paul Billiet ODWS

 The nucleotides in nucleic acids are joined by phosphodiester bonds The 3-OH group of the sugar in one nucleotide forms an ester bond to the phosphate group on the 5-carbon of the sugar of the next nucleotide

Reading Primary Structure A nucleic acid polymer has a free 5-phosphate group at one end and a free 3-OH group at the other end The sequence is read from the free 5-end using the letters of the bases

This example reads

5ACGT3

 In RNA, A, C, G, and U are linked by 3-5 ester bonds between ribose and phosphate

Example of RNA Primary Structure

 In DNA, A, C, G, and T are linked by 3-5 ester bonds between deoxyribose and phosphate

Example of DNA Primary Structure

Nucleic polymer Backbone

sugar to PO4 bond phosphodiester bond

new base added to sugar

of previous base polymer grows in one direction

N bases hang off the sugar-phosphate backbone

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The distribution of nucleic acids in the eukaryotic cell

DNA is found in the nucleus with small amounts in mitochondria and chloroplasts RNA is found throughout the cell

Francis Crick and Jim Watson (1953)

The Experiment

Watson-Crick DNA Model (1953)

5' 3'

Antiparallel double helix DNA bases in the middle Sugar Phosphate backbone running along the outside

Watson

Crick

Watson-Crick Model
DNA consists of two nucleotide strands Strands run in opposite directions The pairing of the bases from the two strands is very specific The complimentary base pairs are A-T and G-C -two hydrogen bonds form between A and T -three hydrogen bonds form between G and C

WatsonCrick Model
Each pair consists of a purine and a pyrimidine, so they are the same width, keeping the two strands at equal distances from each other Molecule is a double helix

2 strands of DNA helix are complementary

AP Biology

Hydrogen bonds

DNA IS MADE OF TWO STRANDS OF POLYNUCLEOTIDE

P G P C P C P A P T P T A P A P T G P

C
P

G
P

DNA IS MADE OF TWO STRANDS OF POLYNUCLEOTIDE

The sister strands of the DNA molecule run in opposite directions (antiparallel) They are joined by the bases Each base is paired with a specific partner: A is always paired with T G is always paired with C Purine with Pyrimidine This the sister strands are complementary but not identical The bases are joined by hydrogen bonds, individually weak but collectively strong

Watson-Crick DNA Model (1953)

Antiparallel double helix

DNA bases in the middle

Sugar Phosphate backbone running along the outside Bases are paired with each other

DNA Double Helix

5

P
5 4 3 2 1

O
O
1

P
5

T
O

A
O

DNA bases can only pair one way

A T

G C
This is called complementarity

Complementarity
Complementarity allows the hereditary information to be copied digitally.

Question: Why is digital copying an advantage?

DNA can be very accurately copied

There have been hundreds of billions of cell divisions since you were a single fertilized egg.

Chargaffs Rule
Adenine must pair with Thymine

Guanine must pair with Cytosine

Their amounts in a given DNA molecule will be about the same.

Composition of DNA
Chargaff showed:
Amount of adenine relative to guanine differs among species Amount of adenine always equals amount of thymine and amount of guanine always equals amount of cytosine

A=T and G=C

Erwin Chargaffs Data (1950-51)

Maurice Wilkins & Rosalind Franklin (1952): X-ray crystallography

Maurice Wilkins & Rosalind Franklin

The Experiment

X-rays DNA crystal

Photographic film

X-ray diffraction from DNA crystal

Showed that DNA is a double helix Showed that the bases are on the inside

Watson, Crick and Wilkins Nobel Prize 1962

Crick, Watson and Wilkins won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1962. Maurice Wilkins was at King's College, London and was an expert in X-ray photography. His colleague, Rosalind Franklin, did brilliant work developing the technique to photograph a single strand of DNA. She received little recognition for this at the time and died tragically of cancer in 1958, so could not be recognized in the Nobel Award.

The Nobel Prize

Where was Rosalind Franklin?

Rosalind Franklin (1920 - 1958)

Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)

RNA is much more abundant than DNA There are several important differences between RNA and DNA:

- the pentose sugar in RNA is ribose, in DNA its deoxyribose

- in RNA, uracil replaces the base thymine (U pairs with A) - RNA is single stranded while DNA is double stranded - RNA molecules are much smaller than DNA molecules There are three main types of RNA: - ribosomal (rRNA), messenger (mRNA) and transfer (tRNA)

Types of RNA

Ribosomal RNA
Ribosomes are the sites of protein synthesis - they consist of ribosomal DNA (65%) and proteins (35%) - they have two subunits, a large one and a small one

Messenger RNA

Messenger RNA carries the genetic code transcripted from DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm - they are strands of RNA that are complementary to the DNA of the gene for the protein to be synthesized

Transfer RNA
Transfer RNA translates the genetic code from the messenger RNA and brings specific amino acids to the ribosome for protein synthesis Each amino acid is recognized by one or more specific tRNA tRNA has a tertiary structure that is L-shaped - one end attaches to the amino acid and the other binds to the mRNA by a 3-base complimentary sequence

DNA vs RNA
DNA Deoxyribose sugar Bases: Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, Guanine Double-stranded helix arrangement Consist of two long polynucleotide strands Only one type of DNA DNA is found mainly in the nucleus, with small amounts in mitochondria and chloroplasts. Amount per diploid cell is constant an any one species RNA Ribose sugar Bases: Adenine, Uracyl, Cytosine, Guanine Single stranded Consists of a shorter single polynucleotide strand Three main types of RNA (mRNA, rRNA, tRNA) RNA occurs mainly in the cytoplasm, with small amounts in the nucleus. Amount varies from cell to cell

 A nucleoside consists of a nitrogen base linked by a glycosidic bond to C1 of a ribose or deoxyribose Nucleosides are named by changing the the nitrogen base ending to -osine for purines and idine for pyrimidines A nucleotide is a nucleoside that forms a phosphate ester with the C5 OH group of ribose or deoxyribose Nucleotides are named using the name of the nucleoside followed by 5-monophosphate

Nucleosides and Nucleotides

Names of Nucleosides and Nucleotides

 Additional phosphate groups can be added to the nucleoside 5-monophosphates to form diphosphates and triphosphates ATP is the major energy source for cellular activity

AMP, ADP and ATP

How DNA Works

1- DNA stores genetic information in segments called genes 2- The DNA code is in Triplet Codons (short sequences of 3 nucleotides each) 3- Certain codons are translated by the cell into certain Amino acids. 4. Thus, the sequence of nucleotides in DNA indicate a sequence of Amino acids in a protein.

A HISTORY OF DNA
SEE p. 292-293 Discovery of the DNA double helix A. Frederick Griffith Discovers that a factor in diseased bacteria can transform harmless bacteria into deadly bacteria (1928)

B. Rosalind Franklin - X-ray photo of DNA. (1952)

C. Watson and Crick - described the DNA molecule from Franklins X-ray. (1953)

Watson & Crick proposed

DNA had specific pairing between the nitrogen bases: ADENINE THYMINE CYTOSINE - GUANINE DNA was made of 2 long stands of nucleotides arranged in a specific way called the Complementary Rule

DNA Double Helix

Rungs of ladder Nitrogenous Base (A,T,G or C)

Legs of ladder

Phosphate & Sugar Backbone

Nitrogenous Bases
PURINES 1. Adenine (A) 2. Guanine (G)
A or G

PYRIMIDINES 3. Thymine (T) 4. Cytosine (C)

T or C

Chargaffs Rule
Adenine must pair with Thymine

Guanine must pair with Cytosine

Their amounts in a given DNA molecule will be about the same.

BASE-PAIRINGS
H-bonds