Molecular biology

Molecular biology
• Molecular biology is the branch of biology that
deals with the nature of biological phenomena
at the molecular level through the study of
DNA and RNA, proteins, and other
macromolecules involved in genetic
information and cell function,
characteristically making use of advanced
tools and techniques of separation,
manipulation, imaging, and analysis.
 Components Involve in Molecular Biology
All Life depends on 3 critical
molecules

DNA

RNA

Protein
• Molecular biology remained a pure science
with few practical applications until the 1970s,
when certain types of enzymes were
discovered that could cut and recombine
segments of DNA in the chromosomes of
certain bacteria.
• The resulting recombinant DNA technology
became one of the most active branches of
molecular biology because it allows the
manipulation of the genetic sequences that
determine the basic characters of organisms.
 Dissecting
the genome into
manageably-sized
segments for
manipulation and
analysis of
DNA sequences

How
the genetic
processes of cell
work?

Finding Separating
the tools Individual
of macromolecules
genetic analysis from the mixtures
-model organism found in the cell
 What is Genome ?

• Genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary

information.
• It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of
virus, in RNA.
• The genome includes both the genes and the non-
coding sequences of the DNA.
 Central Dogma
• Molecular biology looks at the molecular
mechanisms behind processes such as
replication, transcription, translation and
cell function.
• One way to describe the basis of molecular
biology is to say it concerns understanding
how genes are transcribed into RNA and
how RNA is then translated into protein.
Basic players in molecular biology: DNA, RNA, and
proteins. What they do is this :
The discipline particularly seeks to understand
the molecular basis of genetic processes;
• Molecular biologists map the location of genes
on specific chromosomes, associate these genes
with particular characters of an organism, and use
recombinant DNA technology to isolate,
sequence, and modify specific genes.
• Biologists use molecular and genetic tools to
study the function of those molecules (DNA,
RNA and Protein) in the living cell
Molecular Biology Applications
1.Electrophoresis through a Gel Separates DNA and
RNA Molecules According to Size
2.Restriction Endonucleases Cleave DNA Molecules at
Particular Sites
3.DNA Hybridization Can Be Used to Identify Specific
DNA Molecules
4.Isolation of specific segment of DNA
5.DNA CLONING
6.Chemically Synthesized Oligonucleotides
7.The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
8. Shotgun Sequencing a Bacterial Genome
9.Genome-wide Analyses
10.Comparative Genome Analysis
Benefits of molecular biology products in
medicine
_ Medicine utilizes molecular biology products
and techniques in analysis of disease, disease
genes and gene function
_ Early stage diagnostics, new disease
biomarkers
_ New vaccines and medicines
_ Gene therapy
_ Personalized medicine