MOLECULAR

BASIS
OF
HEREDITY

S H E R E E N A V. O P I N I A N O , R M T, M S M T.
DNA (DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID)
• Building blocks of llife
• Hereditary materials in humans and almost all organism
• 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).
• DNA is a long thread like unbranched polymeric molecule of heredity.
• DNA molecule composed of repeating sub units called nucleotides
NUCLEOTIDE
Source:https://steemit.com/dna/@patelchirag/dna-structure
RECAP! :
NUCLEIC ACIDS
1868 - Friedrich Meischer
- discovered
nucleic acids
- nuclein (nucleus)
It was later discovered that
cells without nucleus also
contain nucleic acids.

Source:https://www.britannica.com/science/nucleic-acid
TYPES OF DNA

1.NUCLEAR DNA (n DNA)

• Located within the nucleus of eukaryote cells.
• Usually has two copies per cell.
• The structure is linear with open ends and includes 46 chromosomes containing 3
billion nucleotides.
• Nuclear DNA is diploid, ordinarily inheriting the DNA from two parents.
• mutation rate for nuclear DNA is <0.3%

Sourcr:http://dnascienceyear9.weebly.com/nuclear-dna.html
2. Mt DNA (Mitochondrial DNA)
 Contains 100-1,000 copies per cell.
 usually have closed, circular structures
 (eg: 16,569 nucleotides in human)
 the DNA located in mitochondria,
cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert
chemical energy from food into a form that cells can
use, adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
 RNA
• Sugar: ribose
• Nitrogenous case: AGCU
• Severo Ochoa, Robert Holley, and
Carl Woese all played critical roles in
discovering RNA and understanding
how it worked.

Source: https://byjus.com/biology/structure-of-rna/
RNA FUNCTIONS:
• Facilitate the translation of DNA into proteins
• Functions as an adapter molecule in  protein synthesis
• Serves as a messenger between the DNA and the ribosomes.
• They are the carrier of genetic information in all living cells
• Promotes the ribosomes to choose the right amino acid which
is required in building up of new proteins in the body.
CHROMOSOMES
• Strasburger discovered chromosomes in 1875
• W. Waldeyer in 1888 coined the term ‘chromosome’.
• Walter Sutton and Theodor Boveri in 1902 suggested that chromosomes are the physical carrier of genes
in the eukaryotic cells.
• composed of thin chromatin threads called chromonemata.
• play a vital role in cell division, heredity, variation, mutation, repair and regeneration.
• Chromosome means ‘coloured body’, that refers to its staining ability by certain dyes.
https://byjus.com/neet/important-notes-of-biology-for-neet-chromosome-structure/
 CHROMOSOME STRUCTURE
1. Chromatid
2. Centromere and kinetochore
3. Secondary constriction and nucleolar
organisers
4. Telomere
5. Satellite
6. Chromatin
1 . C H R O M AT I D
 2. CENTROMERE AND KINETOCHORE
KINETOCHORE
CENTROMERE • Is the attachment site
• Primary
for spindle microtubule
constriction of the therby directly involved
condensed in the movement of
chromosome chromosomes during
• Control locus of
mitosis and meiosis
chromosome
segregation during
mitosis & meiosis
 3. SECONDARY CONSTRICTION AND
NUCLEOLAR ORGANISERS
• constrictions mark the locations at which
the nucleoli are assembled
• Secondary constrictions, which contain
genes to form nucleoli are known as
the nucleolar organizer

Source: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Telomere#:~:text=A%20telomere%20is%20the%20end,cell%20can
%20no%20longer%20divide.
4. TELOMERE

• Terminal part of a
chromosome
 5 . S AT E L L I T E
It is an elongated segment that is
sometimes present on a
chromosome at the secondary
constriction.

The chromosomes with satellite are

known as sat-chromosome
7 . C H R O M AT I N
• made up of DNA, RNA and proteins.
• At interphase, chromosomes are visible as thin chromatin fibres
present in the nucleoplasm.
• .The darkly stained, condensed region of chromatin is known
as heterochromatin. It contains tightly packed DNA, which is
genetically inactive
• The light stained, diffused region of chromatin is known
as euchromatin. 
• At prophase, the chromosomal material is visible as thin filaments
known as chromonemata
• At interphase, bead-like structures are visible, which are an
accumulation of chromatin material called chromomere. 
 S T R U C T U R A L O R G A N I S AT I O N O F
C H R O M AT I N

1. Nucleosomes
basic unit of chromatin.
made up of 146 base pair of DNA coiled around
a core of eight histone molecules (2 molecules
of 4 histone proteins)

HISTONES:
H1, H2A, H2B, H3 and H4
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Chromosomes-are-made-of-DNA-histone-protein-complexes-Chromosomal-DNA-is-
packaged_fig1_330838554
https://ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-3-genetics/32-chromosomes/chromosome-types.html
Prokaryotic cells typically have a single, circular
chromosome located in the nucleoid.
Eukaryotic chromosomes are located within the nucleus,
whereas prokaryotic chromosomes are located in the
nucleoid.
• End.