ELA B. NAVALES
TED OLIDANA
BSN 105
25.1 What Are the Molecules of
Heredity?
- Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is
the primary chemical component
of chromosomes and is the
material of which genes are
made.
25.2 What structures of the cell, visible
in a microscope, contain hereditary
information?
- The nucleus (plural, nuclei)
houses the cell's genetic material,
or DNA, and is also the site of
synthesis for ribosomes, the
cellular machines that assemble
proteins.
25.3 Name one hereditary disease.
- Congenital deafness
25.4 What is the basic unit of heredity?
- A gene is the basic physical and
functional unit of heredity.
25.2 What Are Nucleic Acids Made Of?
- Nucleic acids are made of
nitrogen-containing bases,
phosphate groups, and sugar
molecules.
25.5 (a) Where in a cell is the DNA
located?
- Most DNA is located in the cell
nucleus (where it is called
nuclear DNA), but a small
amount of DNA can also be
found in the mitochondria (where
it is called mitochondrial DNA or
mtDNA).
MR.
BIOCHEMISTRY
(b) Where in a cell is the RNA located?
- The two places that RNA is found
in the cell is the nucleus and the
cytoplasm.
25.6 What are the components of (a) a
nucleotide and (b) a nucleoside?
- They are building blocks of
nucleic acid, as nucleotides
consist of the same components
such as a nitrogenous base,
sugar and a phosphate group.
25.7 What are the differences between
DNA and RNA?
- DNA is double-stranded, forming
a double helix, while RNA is
usually single-stranded.
25.8 Draw the structures of ADP and
GDP. Are these structures parts of
nucleic acids?
- Yes.
25.9 What is the difference in structure
between thymine and uracil?
- Thymine has a methyl group
(CH3) attached to its ring
structure, whereas uracil does
not have this methyl group.
25.10 Which DNA and RNA bases
contain a carbonyl group?
- The DNA bases that contain a
carbonyl group are: guanine,
cytosine, and thymine.
25.11 Draw the structures of (a) cytidine
and (b) deoxycytidine.
25.12 Which DNA and RNA bases are
primary amines?
- A primary amine functional group
is present in adenine (on carbon
atom 6), guanine (on carbon
atom 2), and cytosine (on carbon
atom 4).
25.13 What is the difference in structure
between D-ribose and
2-deoxy-D-ribose?
- Ribose sugar has a hydroxyl
(OH) group at position 2,
whereas deoxyribose sugar has a
hydrogen (H) atom at position 2.
25.14 What is the difference between a
nucleoside and a nucleotide?
- Nucleotides are simply a
nucleoside with one or more
phosphate groups attached
25.15 RNA and DNA refer to nucleic
acids. Which part of the molecule is
acidic?
- Both.
25.16 What type of bond exists between
the ribose and the phosphate in AMP?
- Phosphate ester bond.
25.17 What type of bond exists between
the two phosphates in ADP?
- Phosphoanhydride bonds.
25.18 What type of bond connects the
base to the ribose in GTP?
- N-glycosidic bond.
25.3 What Is the Structure of DNA and
RNA?
- DNA is a double-stranded
molecule that has a long chain of
nucleotides. RNA is a
single-stranded molecule which
has a shorter chain of
nucleotides.
25.19 In RNA, which carbons of the
ribose are linked to the phosphate group
and which are linked to the base?
- 5′ carbon.
25.20 What constitutes the backbone of
DNA?
- Alternating sugar (deoxyribose)
and phosphate groups.
25.21 Draw the structures of (a) UDP
and (b) dAMP.
25.22 In DNA, which carbon atoms of
2-deoxy-D-ribose are bonded to the
phosphate groups?
- 3' carbon atom.
25.23 The sequence of a short DNA
segment is ATGGCAATAC.
(a) What name do we give to the two
ends (terminals) of a DNA molecule?
- DNA is read from the 5’ end to
the 3’ end where the 5’ end ends
in a phosphate group
(b) In this segment, which end is which?
- Phosphate Group.
(c) What would be the sequence of the
complementary strand?
- TATACGCG.
25.24 Chargaff showed that in samples
of DNA taken from many different
species, the molar quantity of A was
always approximately equal to the molar
quantity of T; the same is true for C and
G. How did this information help to
establish the structure of DNA?
- In the DNA structure, because
guanine (G) is always paired with
cytosine (C) and adenine (A) is
always paired with thymine (T),
you would expect to have equal
amounts of each.
25.25 How many hydrogen bonds can
form between uracil and adenine?
- Two hydrogen bonds.
25.26 How many histones are present in
a nucleosome?
- Eight histone proteins.
25.27 What is the nature of the
interaction between histones and DNA
in nucleosomes?
- Electrostatic interactions and
hydrogen bonds
25.28 What are chromatin fibers made
of?
- DNA and proteins.
25.29 What constitutes the
superstructure of chromosomes?
- DNA tightly coiled many times
around proteins called histones.
25.30 What is the primary structure of
DNA?
- Linear nucleotide sequences that
are held together by strong
phosphodiester bonds.
25.31 What is the secondary structure of
DNA?
- two polynucleotide chains
wrapped around one another to
form a double helix.
25.32 What is the major groove of a
DNA helix?
- 12 Angstroms wide.
25.33 What are the higher-order
structures of DNA that eventually make
up a chromosome?
- A nucleosome.
25.4 What Are the Different Classes of
RNA?
- They are messenger RNA
(mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA),
and ribosomal RNA (rRNA).
25.34 Which type of RNA has enzyme
activity? Where does it function mostly?
- Self-splicing molecules.
25.35 Which has the longest chains:
tRNA, mRNA, or rRNA?
- Option 'C' mRNA.
25.36 Which type of RNA contains
modified nucleotides?
- Ribosomal RNA.
25.37 Which type of RNA has a
sequence exactly complementary to that
of DNA?
- mRNA.
25.38 Where is rRNA located in the
cell?
- In the ribosomes in the cytoplasm
of a cell.
25.39 What kind of functions do
ribozymes, in general, perform?
- During transfer RNA maturation,
intron splicing, replication of RNA
viruses or viroids, the regulation
of messenger RNA stability, and
protein synthesis.
25.40 Which of the RNA types are
always involved in protein synthesis?
- mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA.
25.41 What is the purpose of snRNA?
- Play a role in the processing of
the primary transcription products
of split genes, thus allowing for
precise alignment and correct
excision of introns.
25.42 What is the purpose of siRNA?
- Can be used as tools to study
single gene function both in vivo
and in-vitro.
25.43 What is the difference between
miRNA and siRNA?
- The former inhibits the
expression of one specific target
mRNA while the latter regulates
the expression of multiple
mRNAs.
25.5 What Are Genes?
- The basic physical and functional
unit of heredity.
25.44 Define:
(a) Intron
- A segment of a DNA or RNA
molecule which does not code for
proteins and interrupts the
sequence of genes.
(b) Exon
- A region of the genome that ends
up within an mRNA molecule.
25.45 Does mRNA also have introns 25.50 Which functional groups on the
and exons? Explain bases form hydrogen bonds in the DNA
- Introns and exons are nucleotide double helix?
sequences within a gene. Introns - Amino and carbonyl groups.
are removed by RNA splicing as 25.51 Draw the structures of adenine
RNA matures, meaning that they and thymine and show with a diagram
are not expressed in the final the two hydrogen bonds that stabilize
messenger RNA (mRNA) A—T pairing in DNA.
product, while exons go on to be
covalently bonded to one another
in order to create mature mRNA.
25.46 (a) What percentage of human
DNA codes for proteins?
- About 1%.
(b) What is the function of the rest
of the DNA?
- Regulating when proteins are
made and controlling the
packaging of DNA within the cell.
25.47 Do satellites code for a particular 25.52 Draw the structures of cytosine
protein? and guanine and show with a diagram
- It does not code for a particular the three hydrogen bonds that stabilize
protein. C—G pairing in nucleic acids.
25.48 Do all genes code for a protein? If
not, what do they code for?
- Not all genes will code for a
protein product.
25.6 How Is DNA Replicated?
- The opening of the double helix
and separation of the DNA
strands, the priming of the
template strand, and the
assembly of the new DNA
segment. 25.53 How many different bases are
25.49 A DNA molecule normally present in a DNA double helix?
replicates itself millions of times, with - Four bases.
almost no errors. What single fact about
the structure is most responsible for this
fidelity of replication?
- DNA helicase.
25.54 What is a replication fork? How
many replication forks may exist
simultaneously on an average human
chromosome?
- Two replication forks are formed
at the origin of replication, and
these get extended in both
directions as replication
proceeds. There are multiple
origins of replication on the
eukaryotic chromosome, such
that replication can occur
simultaneously from several
places in the genome.
25.55 Why is replication called
semiconservative?
- One of the strands of DNA in
each of the two copies of DNA is
ancient and conserved while the
other is newly produced at the
moment of replication.
25.56 How does the removal of some
positive charges from histones enable
the opening of the chromosomal
superstructure?
- Removing some of the positive
charges on lysyl residues in the
histones weakens the DNA.
25.57 Write the chemical reaction for the
deacetylation of acetyl-histone.
- The acetyl group is removed by
one of the HDAC enzymes during
deacetylation, allowing histones
to interact with DNA more tightly
to form compacted nucleosome
assembly.
25.58 What is the quaternary structure
of helicases in eukaryotes?
- Ring-shaped structure.
25.59 What are helicases? What is their
function?
- Helicases are essential enzymes
involved in all aspects of nucleic
acid metabolism including DNA
replication, repair, recombination,
transcription, ribosome
biogenesis and RNA processing,
translation, and decay.
25.60 Can dATP serve as a source for a
primer?
- Yes.
25.61 What are the side products of the
action of primase in forming primers?
- RNA molecules.
25.62 What do we call the enzymes that
join nucleotides into a DNA strand?
- DNA polymerase.
25.63 In which direction is the DNA
molecule synthesized continuously?
- DNA is always synthesized in the
5'-to-3' direction.
25.64 What kind of bond formation do
polymerases catalyze?
- Phosphodiester bond.
25.65 Which enzyme catalyzes the
joining of Okazaki fragments?
- DNA ligase.
25.66 What is the nature of the chemical
reaction that joins nucleotides together?
- A condensation reaction.
25.67 From the perspective of the chain
being synthesized, in which direction
does DNA synthesis proceed?
- 5'-to-3' direction.
25.7 How Is DNA Repaired?
- Repaired by removal of the
damaged bases followed by
resynthesis of the excised region.
25.68 As a result of damage, a few of
the guanine residues in a gene are
methylated. What kind of mechanism
could the cell use to repair the damage?
- Direct reversal of the chemical
reaction responsible for DNA
damage, and (2) removal of the
damaged bases followed by their
replacement with newly
synthesized DNA.
25.69 What is the function of
endonuclease in the BER repair
mechanism?
- Removes all 3′ blocking groups
(including 3′ phosphate)
generated by DNA
glycosylase/AP lyases after base
excision.
25.70 When cytosine is deaminated,
uracil is formed. Uracil is a naturally
occurring base. Why would the cell use
base excision repair to remove it?
- To prevent such mutations.
25.71 Which bonds are cleaved by
glycosylase?
- The N-glycosidic bond.
25.72 What are AP sites? Which
enzyme creates them?
- AP sites are the central
intermediate in DNA base
excision repair (BER) and must
be processed by 5' AP
endonucleases.
25.73 Why are patients with xeroderma
pigmentosa 1000 times more likely to
develop skin cancer than normal
individuals are?
- The major features of xeroderma
pigmentosum result from a
buildup of unrepaired DNA
damage.
25.74 What is the advantage of using
DNA polymerase from thermophilic
bacteria that live in hot thermal vents in
PCR?
- It is cheaper to obtain from live
microorganisms than producing
the enzyme in a lab.
25.75 What 12-nucleotide primer would
you use in the PCR technique when you
want to amplify a gene whose end is as
follows: 3rTACCGTCATCCGGTG5r?
- 5'ATGGCAGTAGGC3'