Reviewer in Adv. Biology John Titus M.

Blancaver

Nucleic acids

Nucleic acids 2. Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)

- Discovered by Friedrich Miescher in 1868 • Foods containing high levels of purines
from the nuclei of WBC and called it usually also contain high levels of nucleic
“nuclein” acids. (fish, liver, eggs, beans, asparagus,
- Are important for the storage and mushrooms)
expression of genetic information. • High RNA food include chlorella, spirulina,
- They are composed of CHON + and nutritional yeasts
Phosphorus
- The monomers or building blocks of
nucleic acids are the NUCLEOTIDES
- A nucleotide is composed of:
1. a pentose (5C) sugar
2. a nitrogenous base
3. a phosphate group
(NOTE: If phosphate is absent, the molecule
is called nucleoside (sugar + nitrogenous
base only))
• There are two types of nucleic acid
1. Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

Nitrogenous base Sugar Nucleoside No. of Phosphate Nucleotide

Adenine (A) Deoxyribose Adenosine 1 Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)
2 Adenosine diphosphate (ADP)
3 Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
Guanine (G) Deoxyribose Guanosine 1 Guanosine monophosphate (GMP)
2 Guanosine diphosphate (GDP)
3 Guanosine triphosphate (GTP)
Cytosine (C) Deoxyribose Cytidine 1 Cytidine monophosphate (CMP)
2 Cytidine diphosphate (CDP)
3 Cytidine triphosphate (CTP)
Thymine (T) Deoxyribose Thymidine 1 Thymidine monophosphate (TMP)
2 Thymidine diphosphate (TDP)
3 Thymidine triphosphate (TTP)
Uracil (U) Ribose Uridine 1 Uridine monophosphate (UMP)
(Only in RNA) 2 Uridine diphosphate (UDP)
3 Uridine triphosphate (UTP)

DNA and RNA

DNA RNA
• called the “blueprint of life” • acts as a messenger carrying instructions
• contains the instructions for making from DNA for controlling the synthesis of
proteins within the cell proteins
• single-stranded
Reviewer in Adv. Biology John Titus M. Blancaver

(NOTE: Both DNA and RNA are found in the

nuclei of cells)

Differences between DNA and RNA

DNA RNA
Bases A, G, C, T A, G, C, U
Strand Double-stranded Single-stranded
Structure Antiparallel helix Hairpin and loops
Sugar Deoxyribose Ribose
Location Nuclear or mitochondrial Nuclear or cytoplasmic
Lifetime Long Short
Process Transcription Translation
Types Nuclear DNA, mtDNA mRNA, tRNA, rRNA, miRNA, siRNA,
ribozyme

Chromosomes Genes
• threadlike structures of nucleic acids and • made up of a chemical called DNA
proteins found inside the nucleus • carriers of traits
• the carriers of genes

Why do we study DNA?

• It’s central importance to all life on earth
• Medical benefits such as cures and diseases
• Better food crops

Structure of DNA

• DNA is a “double helix” molecule

• DNA double helix has 2 strands twisted
together
Reviewer in Adv. Biology John Titus M. Blancaver

Double helix structure

of DNA

• The backbone of the molecule is

alternating phosphate and
deoxyribose, a sugar, parts.
• The teeth are nitrogenous bases.

A single strand of DNA

Nitrogenous bases

2 types of nitrogenous bases

1. Purines (double ring structures)
2. Pyrimidines (single ring structures)
Reviewer in Adv. Biology John Titus M. Blancaver

Chargaff’s rule of base pairing • In a body or somatic cell:

• Formulated by Erwin Chargaff A = 30.3%
• It states that “DNA from any species of any T = 30.3%
organism should have a 1:1 ratio of G = 19.5%
pyrimidine and purine bases and, more C = 19.9%
specifically, that the amount of guanine Base pairing in DNA (following Chargaff’s rule)
should be equal to cytosine and the • Adenine and Thymine are always joined
amount of adenine should be equal to together
thymine”. This pattern is found in both A--T
strands of the DNA • Cytosine and Guanine are always joined
together
C--G

Bonds involved in DNA double helix

Glycosidic bonds

Phosphodiester
bonds

Hydrogen bonds

Types of bonds:
1. Phosphodiester bonds
- Binds pentose sugar to a phosphate group
2. Glycosidic bonds
- Binds nitrogenous base to pentose sugar (deoxyribose)
3. Hydrogen bonds
- Binds nitrogenous bases (A—T, C—G)
Reviewer in Adv. Biology John Titus M. Blancaver

Antiparallel: Two molecules that are side by side but run in opposite directions. The two
strands of DNA are antiparallel. The head of one strand is always laid against the tail of the
other strand of DNA
The Roles of different kinds of RNA
RNA Type Size Function
Transfer RNA Small Transports amino acids to site of proteins synthesis
Ribosomal RNA Variable in size Combines with proteins to form ribosomes, the site of
protein synthesis
Messenger RNA Variable Directs amino acid sequence of proteins
Small nuclear RNA Small Processes initial mRNA to its mature form in
eukaryotes
Small interfering Small Affects gene expression; used by scientists to knock
RNA out a gene being studied
Micro RNA Small Affects gene expression; important in growth and
development

Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

An organism’s DNA molecules are divided into functional groups called genes. These
sequences contain the instructions for making a specific product, which is a molecule needed to
perform a certain task for the cell. These products are mostly proteins (or polypeptides), while
others are functional RNA (tRNA, rRNA). This process of converting information from DNA into a
functional product is called gene expression.

In gene expression, there are 2 main important steps: Transcription and Translation

• Transcription
- The DNA sequence is copied to make an RNA molecule.
- It is called such as it is essentially rewriting the DNA sequence in similar RNA “Alphabet”
- In eukaryotes, the RNA molecule has to go through a process to mature into an mRNA
molecule

Steps in Transcription
1. A strand in the DNA makes up a gene, called the non-coding strand, which acts as a
template for the synthesis of the RNA strand, called the primary transcript. This uses an
enzyme called RNA polymerase.
2. This primary transcript carries the same sequence of information as the non-transcribed
sequence of DNA, called the coding strand.

• Translation
- The process of using information from an mRNA to construct a polypeptide chain
- The sequence of the mRNA is decoded to specify the next amino acid in the polypeptide
chain
Reviewer in Adv. Biology John Titus M. Blancaver

- It is called such as it is essentially translating the sequence of nucleotides into the

language of amino acids
- Each 3 nucleotides (codons) translate to a specific amino acid, depending on the
nitrogenous bases present on each codon.

Steps in translation
1. mRNA from transcription travels to ribosomes, which are where proteins are built.
2. These ribosomes latch on to the mRNA and look for the “start” codon (Methionine).
3. Once it is found, it will go through each codon in its chain, gradually building up the
polypeptide chain. The ribosome itself doesn’t perform the matching of amino acids,
instead, specialized RNA molecules (tRNA) do it instead.
4. Each tRNA have 3 nucleotides sticking out at one end, and an amino acid on the other.
These 3 nucleotides are what match the codons being read, and these bind and deliver
its amino acid.

Thus, during expression of a protein-coding gene, information flows from DNA  RNA 
Protein. This directional flow of information is known as the central dogma of molecular
biology.

Extra:
DNA replication
- the biological process of producing two identical replicas of DNA from one original DNA
molecule.

Endosymbiotic Theory

Endosymbiotic theory
- (This section will be updated another time, but the maker of this reviewer is tired asf so he
wishes you the best of luck on the test.)

Griffith Experiment

The Griffith experiment is about an experiment performed by Fredreck Griffith in 1928.

This experiment shows that bacteria are capable of transferring genetic information by
transforming.

The bacteria used in this experiment are 2 different strains of Streptococcus

pneumoniae: Type II-R (Rough strain) and Type III-S (Smooth strain).

• Type II-R (rough strain) has no protective layering around its structure, thus being able to
be killed by the immune system
• Type III-S (smooth strain) has a polysaccharide layer around it, protecting it from the
immune system, so it is able to kill the host
Reviewer in Adv. Biology John Titus M. Blancaver

Set-up of the experiment:

Treatment: Rough strain Smooth Heat-killed smooth Rough strain and
strain strain Heat-killed
Result: Mouse lived Mouse died Mouse lived Mouse died

In this experiment, bacteria of type III-S were heated and killed, and these remains were
placed on type II-R. Normally, type II-R isn’t capable of killing the white mouse because its
immune system would kill the bacteria, and the heat-killed type III-S isn’t capable of killing the
host as it is already dead. Yet in the experiment, the results yielded that the mix of the 2
bacteria (Heat-killed type III-S and type II-R) were able to kill the white mouse.

It was concluded that there was a transformation of the alive type II-R to type III-S.
While the original III-S was killed, it still had surviving DNA, which was then taken up by the type
II-R bacteria. The DNA of the type III-S armed the type II-R bacteria with the genes necessary to
form the polysaccharide layer, protecting it from the white mouse’s immune system. This
showed that there was a “transforming principle” present do to the taking in of DNA.