Course in Molecular Biology

Leuven, October – November 2002

Program
I. Basics of molecular biology
II. Transcription
III. Translation
IV. Regulatory pathways
V. DNA and diseases
VI. Biotechnology
Lesson 1: Basics of molecular biology

I. The Cell’s Organization

II. Cell Cycle and Cell Division
III. Cellular Molecules
IV. The Genetic Dogma
The Cell’s Organization
 All organisms: 1 or more cells

PROKARYOTES
EUKARYOTES
The animal cell
A plant cell
A bacterium
The Main Functions of the Membrane-bounded
Compartments of a Eukaryotic Cell

Compartment Main Function

Cytosol contains many metabolic pathways

protein synthesis
Nucleus contains main genome
DNA and RNA synthesis
Endoplasmic reticulum synthesis of most lipids
(ER) synthesis of proteins for distribution to many organelles and plasma
membrane
Golgi apparatus modification, sorting, and packaging of proteins and lipids
for either secretion or delivery to another organelle
Lysosomes intracellular degradation
Endosomes sorting of endocytosed material
Mitochondria ATP synthesis by oxidative phosphorylation
Chloroplasts (in plant ATP synthesis and carbon fixation by photosynthesis
cells)
Peroxisomes oxidation of toxic molecules
Compartimentation of the eukaryote cell:
various organelles
 Cell nucleus
Contains genetic information: DNA

Nucleolus:
Ribosome building machine

Protein factories
in the cytoplasm
Each human cell contains 46 chromosomes (except sperm or egg cells)
 Chromosomes
in a cell that is about to divide
 Mitochondria:
factories of energy
glucose ADP
Pi

O2

CO2

H2O ATP
 smooth (metabolism+synthesis of lipids)
The endoplasmic reticulum
rough (protein synthesis)
 The Golgi apparatus

cis trans

medial

 processing of secretory proteins

 sorting cellular proteins
 Inside the cytosol:
the cytoskeleton
 “microtubules”
 maintainance of cell shape and mobility
 ancor for other cellular structures
Presentation:
DNA
Cell Cycle and Cell Division
Some Eukaryotic Cell-Cycle Times

Cell Type Cell-Cycle Times

Early frog embryo cells 30 minutes

Yeast cells 1.5-3 hours
Intestinal epithelial cells about 12 hours
Mammalian fibroblasts in culture about 20 hours
Human liver cells about 1 year
The eukaryotic cell cycle
Separation of sister chromatides during mitosis
(mitosis = normal cell division)
 Microtubuli:
assist chromosomes during cell division (mitosis)
Different stages of the M phase during cell division (mitosis)
The three DNA sequence elements needed to produce a eukaryotic
chromosome that can be replicated and then segregated at mitosis
Kinetochores and kinetochore microtubules
 Gametogenesis: meiosis
(= specialized form of cell division giving rise to sperm and egg cells)
Meiosis I
Meiosis I (continued) Meiosis II

Cell division without DNA replication

 Haploid cell
 Presentation:
Chromosomes, mitosis and meiosis
Cellular Molecules
The four main families of small organic molecules in cells
Macromolecules are abundant in cells
The general reaction by which a macromolecule is made

Condensation reaction: H2O molecule is released

The four main families of small organic molecules in cells
Glucose, a simple sugar
Monosaccharides
Sugar ring formation in aqueous solution
 Disaccharides:
formed by two sugar monomers
Oligo- and polysaccharides
Complex oligosaccharides
The four main families of small organic molecules in cells
Phospholipid structure and orientation of phospholipids in membranes
The four main families of small organic molecules in cells
A simple amino acid: alanine
A small part of a large protein molecule
The four main families of small organic molecules in cells
 ATP:
the energy carrier in cells
Various functions of proteins
Proteins as polypeptide chains
Three types of noncovalent bonds that help proteins fold
The size of proteins
Several levels of protein organization
Many protein molecules contain multiple copies
of a single protein subunit
Proteins often have highly specific binding sites
How a set of enzyme-catalyzed reactions generates a metabolic pathway
Phosphorylation and ATP hydrolysis drive protein functions
Genetic information is stored in the DNA
DNA and its building blocks
DNA has an orientation
DNA encodes proteins
“Genes” encode proteins
DNA replication
DNA synthesis and proofreading
Replication of eukaryotic chromosomes
The replication fork in detail
DNA replication can cause mutations
DNA repair
 Mutations:
possible cause of diseases and disfunctionalities
The Genetic Dogma
From DNA to protein
Transcription by RNA polymerase
 RNA vs DNA

mRNAs codes for proteins

rRNAs forms part of the structure of the ribosome and participates in protein
synthesis
tRNAs used in protein synthesis as an adaptor between mRNA and amino acids
Small RNAs used in pre-mRNA splicing, transport of proteins to ER, and other cellular
processes
Genes contain introns and exons
 Presentation:
Heredity and inheritance