Topic 8.

2
The triplet code

DNA: early history

Aims
◼ To become more familiar with the work of some great biologists of the 20th century that
led to the discoveries into DNA structure and heredity. (Note that the questions do not
follow the chronological order.)
◼ To use your knowledge of DNA, together with the information provided, to answer the
questions.

Task
There are four main items of information and questions based on them. Use your knowledge
and deductive skills to answer the questions in the spaces provided.

Questions
1 Table 1 contains some of the values for the base composition of three organisms in molar
percentage, to the nearest whole number. The information was first derived by Erwin
Chargaff in 1950.
Table 1 Percentages of bases of DNA from three different species
Base composition/molar %
Organism
A T G C
Mycobacterium tuberculosis 15 15
Wheat 23
DNA virus: phi ( X 174) 24 33 24

a) From what you know of the structure of DNA and further analysis of the information
in the table, fill in the gaps in Table 1 with the percentages of the bases for the three
organisms.
b) In a sample of DNA from a species, the percentage of A + G is equal to the
percentage of T + C. What are the percentages of A + G, and T + C?

………………………………………………………………………………………………
Each are 50 percent.
c) As suggested in Table 1, the percentage composition of the four bases in the DNA
virus, phi X 174 (X 174), is unusual.

i) What is unusual about the base composition of this DNA virus compared with
most other species?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

AQA Biology AS Level Extension Activity © Nelson Thornes Ltd 2008 1

 Topic 8.2
The triplet code

ii) The virus is a single-stranded DNA virus. How does this information help to
explain the unusual nature of the base composition?

………………………………………………………………………………………………
iii) DNA is said to denature when it is heated above 77 °C, when its two chains
become separated. The exact temperature for this depends on the proportion of
the two base pairings.
What bonds are broken when DNA is denatured?

………………………………………………………………………………………………
Hydrogen bonds.……
2 Watson and Crick reported in the scientific journal, Nature (25 April 1953), that if the
actual order of bases on one of the pair of (DNA) chains were given, one could write
down the exact order of bases on the other one because of specific base pairing.
Using your knowledge of DNA structure, describe, with reference to the bases, how
specific base pairing allows us to be able to write down the exact order of bases on the
other chain of the pair if the actual order of bases on one of the chains were given and
note the features of DNA that cause the actual order of bases of one of the chains to
remain constant.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………
3 Fill in the missing words in the section below on The Genetic Code or cross out the
incorrect choice.
A region of one strand of DNA with the code for the primary structure of one polypeptide
Formatted: Font: 18 pt
.
is called (a) a gene--------------------- Three bases of DNA code for one amino acid
Formatted: Font: 20 pt
means that the genetic code is (b) a -------------------------------- –base code. Six consecutive bases of
DNA coding for just two amino acids, with no base being used twice, means that the
genetic code is
(c) a ----------------------------------------- code. This allows any amino acid (d) to be/not to be followed
by any other amino acid. As 18 of the 20 amino acids coded for in polypeptides/proteins
are determined by more than one triplet of bases, the genetic code is said to be (e) a -----------
---------------------------- code.

4 In 1928 Frederick Griffith carried out research on pneumonia in humans. For part of his
work he used two strains of the pneumonia bacterium, Streptococcus pneumoniae, which
he injected into laboratory mice. The two strains were: the pathogenic (disease-causing)
capsulated strain; and the non-pathogenic, non-capsulated strain. The capsulated strain
forms smooth colonies on agar media (and is also called the S strain), while the non-

AQA Biology AS Level Extension Activity © Nelson Thornes Ltd 2008 2

 Topic 8.2
The triplet code

capsulated strain forms rough colonies on agar media (and is also called the R strain).
Table 2 summarises the main steps in Griffith’s experiment.
Table 2 Griffith’s 1928 investigation with S. pneumoniae and mice
What was injected into Condition of mice S. pneumoniae strain isolated
the mice several days later from the blood of the mice
Living, capsulated (S) DEAD Capsulated (S) strain
strain
Living, non-capsulated (R) ALIVE None isolated
strain
Heat-killed, capsulated (S) ALIVE None isolated
strain
Heat-killed, capsulated (S) DEAD Capsulated (S) strain (and also non-
strain, PLUS the living, capsulated [R] strain)
non-capsulated (R) strain

From the table,

a) What evidence is there that the non-capsulated (R) strain was non-pathogenic to
the mice?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………
The mouse was able to survive after several days after being injected. The pneumonia strain
was none isolated from the mouse’s blood.
b) b) What was the evidence that the capsulated (S) strain was pathogenic to the mice? Formatted: Numbered + Level: 1 + Numbering Style: a, b, c,
… + Start at: 2 + Alignment: Left + Aligned at: 1.27 cm + Tab
after: 1.9 cm + Indent at: 1.9 cm
The living capsulated S strain killed the mouse after several days.
Formatted: Indent: Left: 1.9 cm, First line: 0 cm
………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………
d)c) What was the purpose of using the heat-killed capsulated strain in experiment 3
(row 3)?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………
To serve as a control. It showed that it was actually the pneumonia which were killing the
mice.
d) d) What is the evidence of a change in the genetic make-up of S. pneumoniae? Formatted: Numbered + Level: 1 + Numbering Style: a, b, c,
… + Start at: 2 + Alignment: Left + Aligned at: 1.27 cm + Tab
after: 1.9 cm + Indent at: 1.9 cm
When the strain was heat killed, it proved to be harmless to the mouse that it lived for
multiple days. When the strain was non-capsulated, the mouse also continued to live, Formatted: Indent: Left: 1.9 cm, First line: 0 cm
However, combining the two, the mouse died after a couple of days, a completely different
outcome. This shows that DNA was able to transform another strain to have lethal
characteristics which killed the mouse.

AQA Biology AS Level Extension Activity © Nelson Thornes Ltd 2008 3

 Topic 8.2
The triplet code

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

AQA Biology AS Level Extension Activity © Nelson Thornes Ltd 2008 4

 Topic 8.2
The triplet code

5 Griffith called this change in S. pneumoniae’s genetic make-up ‘transformation’, and

the agent that caused it, the transforming principle. In the early 1940s, Avery, MacLeod
and McCarty carried out experiments to determine whether DNA was Griffith’s
transforming principle. They subjected purified DNA from the capsulated (S) strain of
S. pneumoniae, separately to four types of hydrolytic enzymes, as shown in Table 3.
Then they mixed the four samples of DNA separately to the non-capsulated (R) strain to
see whether transformation occurred (using agar media, etc. and not mice). The results
are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 Results of experiments that tested whether DNA was the ‘transforming principle’
Treatment of purified DNA from the capsulated (S) strain Transformation of the non-
capsulated to the capsulated strain?
Purified DNA + DNase; mixed with non-capsulated strain NO
Purified DNA + RNase; mixed with non-capsulated strain YES
Purified DNA + protease; mixed with non-capsulated strain YES
Purified DNA + lipase; mixed with non-capsulated strain YES

a) What products are formed from the complete hydrolysis of (i) DNA (and RNA);
(ii) protein; and (iii) triglyceride lipids?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………
sugars. amino acids. fatty acids.
b) What information from Table 3 supports Avery’s theory that DNA is the chemical of
heredity (i.e. DNA is Griffith’s transforming principle).

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

AQA Biology AS Level Extension Activity © Nelson Thornes Ltd 2008 5