Biology Higher

HL Nucleic Acids – Chapter 7

DNA structure and replication
Hershey-Chase experiment (DNA is a genetic material)

Nucleosomes help to supercoil the DNA

Rosalind Franklin’s investigation of DNA structure through X-Ray diffraction

Watson and Crick – semi conservative model for replication of DNA

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^ DNA structure suggested a mechanism for DNA replication

DNA polymerases can only add nucleotides to the 3’ end of a primer

- Replication occurs in a 5’ to 3' direction

DNA replication is continuous on the leading strand and discontinuous on the lagging strand

- Two strands in a double helix structure in an antiparallel fashion, Okasaki fragments

DNA replication is carried out by a complex system of enzymes

 Helicase unwinds the DNA at the replication fork

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  Topoisomerase releases the strain that develops ahead of the helicase
 Single stranded binding proteins keep the strands apart long enough for the template strand to be
copied
 RNA primer starts the replication of the DNA – lagging strand = more than one, leading = just one, it
is a necessary enzyme as it initiates the activity of DNA polymerase
 DNA primase creates one RNA primer on the leading strand and many on the lagging strand
 DNA polymerase links the deoxyribonucleic monophosphate to the 3’ end of the growing strand
 DNA ligase connects the gaps between the Okasaki fragments

Some regions of DNA do not code for proteins but have other important functions

- All according to a genetic code

- Most of the eukaryotic genome is non-coding

DNA profiling: tandem repeats, a short nucleotide sequence that shows variations between individuals in
terms of the number of times the sequence is repeated.

Transcription and gene expression

Promoter – non-coding DNA with a function, the binding site of RNA polymerase (catalyses the formation
of the covalent bond between nucleotides during the synthesis of RNA)

Transcription occurs in a 5’ to 3’ direction

Nucleosomes help to regulate transcription in eukaryotes

- Histone proteins
- Acetyl group
- Methyl group
- Amino acid lysine on histone tails can have acetyl groups added or removed

Eukaryotic cells modify mRNA after transcription

 Post-transcriptional modification:

Splicing of mRNA increases the number of different proteins an organism can produce

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 - Occurs in genes with multiple exons
- The proteins translated from alternatively spliced mRNA’s will differ in their amino acid sequence
and possibly their biological function

Gene expression is regulated by proteins that bind to specific base sequences in DNA

EG: absorption and metabolism of lactose by E.Coli

The environment of a cell and of an organism has an impact on gene expression

EG: production of skin pigmentation during exposure to sunlight in humans/Siamese cats

Translation
Initiation of translation involves the assembly of the components that carry out the process

Synthesis of the polypeptide involves a repeated cycle of events

Disassembly of the components follows termination of translation

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Free ribosomes synthesize proteins for use primarily within the cell (synthesized in the cytoplasm or the
endoplasmic reticulum)

Bound ribosomes synthesize proteins primarily for secretion or for use in lysosomes (must be sorted to end
up in the right place, bound to the rough endoplasmic reticulum)

Translation can occur immediately after transcription in prokaryotes due to the absence of a nuclear
membrane

The sequence and number of amino acids in the polypeptide is the primary structure

The secondary structure is the formation of alpha helices and beta pleated sheets stabilized by hydrogen
bonding

The tertiary structure is the further folding of the polypeptide stabilized by interactions between the R
groups

The quaternary structure exists in proteins with more than one polypeptide chain

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