DNA:

Structure and Function

Chapter 12
Section 1
The
TheFirst three-dimensional
Deoxyribose
The Blueprint
LifeMolecule Nucleic
Life Acid
of Manual
of
Instruction Heredity
xerox machine
The Architect of Life
DNA
 Why Study DNA?
To truly understand genetics, biologists first had
to discover the chemical structure of the gene
This would then help them understand how genes
control the inherited characteristics of living things
Gene expression is what
enables cells of the same
organism to take on so many
different sizes, shapes and
functions
(even though just about every
cell in an individual contains
the same DNA)
 Review
1. What organelle is known as the
control center of the cell?
nucleus
2. What structures are found in the nucleus?
chromosomes
3. What are short segments of chromosomes?
genes
4. What are genes/chromosomes composed of?
DNA
5. How do genes/chromosomes control the
activity of the cell? produce proteins that
regulate cell functions and become cell structures
Review
 History
1869 - Friedrich Miescher – “discovered” DNA in
nucleus
1928 - Frederick Griffith – Identified DNA as source of
genetic material using bacteria
1930’s - Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod and Maclyn
McCarty - Confirmed that genes made of DNA
1950 - Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase confirmed
DNA is the biochemical of heredity using
radioactive markers bacteriophages
1952- Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin X-rayed
DNA to show repeatingX-ray
nucleotide structure
of double helix
1953- James Watson and Francis Crick combined data
Oswald Avery Maclyn McCarty
to create
Rosalind Franklin a 3-D model of structure called the
Martha
JamesChasedouble helix
Watson Francis Crick Alfred Hershey
Frederick Griffith
Watson-Crick
Model
 DNA Structure

• Is a polymer of 1000’s of
nucleotide monomers
• Is a double strand of
covalently bonded
nucleotides in twisted ladder shape
•twisted ladder shape = double helix
 DNA Shape

Double helix: 2 spirals wound around

each other

But joined in
the middle
 DNA Structure

• Is a polymer of 1000’s of
nucleotide monomers Sugar
• Is a double strand of Phosphate
Backbone
covalently bonded
nucleotides in twisted ladder shape
twisted ladder shape = double helix
• ‘Rungs’ of ladder = nitrogen bases
• ‘Sides’ of ladder = sugar & phosphate
groups (also called the DNA backbone)
 Nucleotide

•Nucleotide- Individual unit of DNA.

•Made of three parts:
•Deoxyribose (5-carbon sugar)
•Phosphate group
•A nitrogen-containing base
 adenine (T)
base with a
A
base with a
Bases adenine
single-ring
A
basestructure
with a
double-ring
double-ring
structure sugar
•Four nitrogen-containing bases
(deoxyribose)
structure

•Adenine
•Guanine adenine
thymine
(T)

•Cytosine A base with a

base with a single-ring
double-ring structure
sugar

•Thymine
structure
(deoxyribose)

guanine
thymine
adenine
guanine cytosine
(G) (T)
adenine
(G) A
(C)
base with
base a
with
A a
base with guanine
base withaaa
basewith
cytosine
double-ring
(G) (C)
base with a base with a single-ring
double-ring
single-ring
base with a
double-ring sugardouble-ring
structure
single-ring
double-ring structure structure
structure
structure
structure
structure (deoxyribose)
structure
 Bases

 Adenine
double ringed = purines
 Guanine

 Thymine
single ringed = pyrimidines
 Cytosine
 Nucleotide
Deoxyribose (like ribose) P
base
is a sugar with 5 carbon
atoms in a ring
sugar
Oxygen is one of the ring
members
In Deoxyribose, one of the OH groups is missing
and replaced with hydrogen
Thus deoxy =
- 1 oxygen

H OH
 Nucleotide
P - the Phosphate group
P
Is important because it base
links the sugar on one
nucleotide with the phosphate sugar
of the next nucleotide to make
a polynucleotide
Nucleotides are connected to each other
via a covalent bond
 ‘Base Pairing Rule’
• Bases are paired together in specific
manner
 Because of chemical structure and shape

•Adenine only pairs with Thymine

•Guanine only pairs with Cytosine
 Exactly enough room for only one purine
and one pyramide base between the
two strands of DNA
 ‘Base Pairing Rule’

•Bases held together in ‘rungs’ by

weak hydrogen bonds
•2 hydrogen bonds between A & T
•3 hydrogen bonds between C & G
DNA
 DNA Function
• Scientists wondered how DNA worked.
They knew genes do these critical things:
• Carry information from one generation to
another
• Put information to work to determine an
organism’s characteristics
• Can be easily copied
• Store and transmit genetic information
needed for all cell functions
• In order to do these things it had to be a
special molecule!
 Understanding DNA

• Our knowledge of DNA put to use:

• Inheritance/ Genetic Counseling
• Cell function/protein synthesis
• Embryonic development/gene regulation
• Evolution/ phylogenetic relationships
• Medicine/genetic diseases
• Genetic engineering/ recombinant DNA
 Structure of DNA Review

Nucleotide

Hydrogen
bonds

Sugar-phosphate
backbone
Key
Adenine (A)
Thymine (T)
Cytosine (C)
Guanine (G)
 Structure of DNA Review
Purines Pyrimidines
Adenine Guanine Cytosine Thymine

Bases

Phosphate group Deoxyribose

 DNA’s Size
To get an idea of the size of the human genome
present in each of our cells, consider the following
analogy: If the DNA sequence of the human
genome were compiled in books, the equivalent
of 200 volumes the size of a Manhattan telephone
book (at 1,000 pages each) would be needed to
hold it all. It would take about 9.5 years to read
out loud (without stopping) the 3 billion bases in
one person's genome sequence, calculated on
a reading rate of 10 bases per second, equaling
600 bases/minute, 36,000 bases/hour,
864,000 bases/day, 315,360,000 bases/year.
Human Genome Project
A
DNA
How Am I
Packaged?

• Nitrogen bases
1. Are like letters in the code
2. Put them in different order
make a different gene
A
DNA HAT
CAT DOG
Package

• Genes
1. Are like words made up of letters
2. A group of nitrogen bases that
makes sense
3. Tells the cell to do something
 The cat sat.

DNA One dog ate.

Package
The big hat.
• DNA strand
1. Are like sentences made up of words
2. A long line of genes on each DNA
strand
 DNA
Package

• Chromosomes
1. Are like books full of sentences
2. DNA strand twists around and
around itself
 DNA
Package

• Nucleus
1. Is like a bookcase
2. Inside the cell, where all the
chromosomes are stored
 DNA
Package

• So what would a library full of rows and

rows of bookcases represent?
many cells together
which is a tissue