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6A - Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis PDF
6A - Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis PDF
Genetic Control:
DNA and RNA
Genetic control of protein
structure and function
Structure of DNA
DNA replication DNA, RNA
and RNA
Protein
Nucleotides Polynucleotides
Synthesis
....the features of the “genetic molecule”
• Ability to carry instruction (a blueprint)
for the construction and behavior of
cells
• and the way they grow together to form
a complete living organism
....the features of the “genetic molecule”
• Ability to be copied (perfectly) over and
over again
• Whenever the cells divide it can pass on
an exact copy of each “genetic molecule”
to the nuclei of each daughter cells
The discovery of the DNA
(a) describe the structure of RNA and DNA and
explain the importance of base pairing and the
different hydrogen bonding between bases
Structure of DNA and RNA
• DNA stands for
deoxyribonucleic acid
• RNA stands for
ribonucleic acid
• Both DNA and RNA
are macromolecules
like protein and
polysaccharide.
• They are polymers
• DNA and RNA are made of smaller molecules
known as nucleotides.
• DNA and RNA are therefore polynucleotides.
• Refered simply as nucleic acid.
• Nucleotides have three parts to them:
(i) a phosphate group, which is negatively
charged.
• Nucleotides have three parts to them:
(ii) a pentose sugar, which has 5 carbon atoms in
it. In RNA the sugar is ribose. In DNA the sugar
is deoxyribose.
Nucleic Acids
Phosphate Phosphate
Sugar Sugar
Phosphate Phosphate
Sugar Sugar
Purine Pyrimidine
Thymine (DNA)
Adenine Guanine Cytosine
Uracil (RNA)
Polynucleotide
• To form both DNA
and RNA, many of
these nucleotides
are linked together
in a polynucleotide
chain.
• The structure of this
poly nucleotide
chain is seen in this
picture
As you can see, it is
formed by alternating
sugars and phosphates,
and the nitrogen bases
project sideways.
Polynucleotide
• Nucleotides are
connected to each
other via the
phosphate on one
nucleotide (C5) and the
sugar (C3)on the next
nucleotide
• A Polynucleotide
• Sugar-phosphate bonds
(backbone of DNA)
• A-T(U) and G-C
Reading frame of DNA
• In a leading strand (template) of a long
polynucleotide chain (DNA), the reading frame is
always from “ 5’ – 3’ ”. What does this means???
Phosphate grp • As you start reading the nucleotides of a leading
covalently attached strand, you will realize a FREE phosphate grp is
to C5 of the pentose
sugar, hence -5’ end always attached to C5 of the pentose sugar. This
term is used. group is called as the 5’ end of the chain
• As you reach the end of the chain, you will see
the final nucleotide has a FREE hydroxyl grp
attached to the C3 of the pentose sugar. This
group is called as the 3’ end of the chain.
Phosphodiester • Therefore we always read the leading strand of
bond
any given DNA as 5’ – 3’. It’s complementary
strand is the reverse, we read as 3’ – 5’, because
Hydroxyl grp we start off a complementary nucleotide with a
covalently attached FREE –OH at C3 of the sugar.
to C3 of the pentose
sugar, hence -3’ end
term is used.
• DNA molecules
are simply two of
these strands next
to each other,
running in
opposite
directions held
together by
hydrogen bonds.
• The bases do not take
part in the
polymerisation
• Adenine always pairs with thymine, cytosine
always pairs with guanine (A-T, C-G, and in
RNA, it is A-U, since thymine does not
appear).
Base pairing of Nucleotides
In 1940s, Erwin Chargaff calculated
a “rough
equivalent” between adenine and
thymine molecules and between
cytosine and guanine molecules
Chargaff’s DNA Database Composition in
Various Species (%)
Species A T G C
Homo sapiens (Human) 31.0 31.5 19.1 18.4
Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) 27.3 27.6 22.5 22.5
Zea mays (Corn) 25.6 25.3 24.5 24.6
Neurospora crassa (fungus) 23.0 23.3 27.1 26.6
Escherichia coli (bacteria) 24.6 24.3 25.5 25.6
Base pairing – Conclusion of Chargaff’s
experiment
Polynucleotides
DNA molecules
forms a 3D double
helix
shape, bonded by
hydrogen,
whereas RNA
remains as single
strands of
polynucleotide.
The Rule:
• Adenine always base pairs with Thymine (or
Uracil if RNA)
Dianne Chabira
• The discoverers of DNA,
Watson and Crick suggested
that the two polynucleotide
strands of DNA could spilt
apart, and
• new nucleotides (the correct,
complimentary ones) could line
up along each strand, making a
new DNA molecule.
• This process is known as semi-
conservative replication, since
half of the original molecule is
conserved in each of the new
molecules.
`
DNA Replication
dispersive
model
dispersive
model
1. Replication fork
2. Helicase
3. Continuous synthesis
4. DNA polymerase III
5. Discontinuous synthesis
6. RNA primer
7. DNA polymerase I
8. DNA ligase
(c) state that a gene is a sequence of nucleotides
as part of a DNA molecule, which codes for a
polypeptide and state that a mutation is a
change in the sequence that may result in an
altered polypeptide;
DNA, RNA and Protein Synthesis
How can a single type of molecule
like DNA
control all the activities of a cell?
What are proteins made of?
• Deciphering
the codes
of life!!
The nature of genetic codons
• Triplets
• Non-overlapping
• degenerate
Genes and Genomes
• A gene is a part of a DNA molecule that codes
for just one polypeptide, and in humans alone
there is an estimated 140,000 genes.
• One DNA molecule contains many genes.
• One gene = one polypeptide
• One codon = one amino acid
• In human it is estimated that there are about 30
000 genes.
• Total DNA of a human cell is 3 x 109 base pair long
• Only 3% of this DNA actually code for protein.
• The rest are known as junk DNA.
• The total set of genes in a cell is called the
genome.
• The genome is the total information in one
cell.
• All cells in the same individual contain the
same information, the genome represents the
genetic code of that organism.
Human Genome Project
• A global project to
sequence the complete
human genome which
launched in 1990.
• The human genome
contain about 3 billion
bases
• To Identify every human
gene and find out how at
least some of them affect
human health.
mRNA
RNA in protein
synthesis
rRNA - tRNA
ribosome
(d) describe the way in which the nucleotide
sequence codes for the amino acid sequence in
a polypeptide with reference to the nucleotide
sequence for HbA (normal) and HbS (sickle cell)
alleles of the gene for the β-haemoglobin
polypeptide;
Sickle Cell Anemia
• If even one amino
acid in the sequence
is changed, that can
potentially change
the protein’s ability to
function.
• Sickle cell anemia is a
blood disorder that
affects hemoglobin
Sickle Cell Anemia
• It is caused by a change in
only one nucleotide in the
DNA sequence that causes
just one amino acid in one
of the hemoglobin
polypeptide molecules to
be different.
• Because of this, the whole
red blood cell ends up
being deformed and unable
to carry oxygen properly.
One amino acid change