THE GENETIC

MATERIAL
BY MS. MACE DERRACO
 WHAT IS GENETIC MATRIAL?

The genetic material of a cell

or an organism refers to those
materials found in the
nucleus, mitochondria, and
cytoplasm, which play a
fundamental role in
determining the structure and
nature of cell substances, and
capable of self- propagating
and variation.
 What is Genetic Material?

Protein, RNA and DNA

were thought as genetic
material. But many
experiments suggest
DNA as genetic material
Protein
rather than protein and
RNA
 Four requirements for a genetic material

Must carry information Must self replicate

-cracking the genetic code -DNA replication

Must allow for information to Must govern the expression of

change the phenotype
-mutation -gene function
 Identification of Genetic material

Protein
RNA DNA
I. Genetic Material
A. Nucleic Acids
-Nucleic acids contain
instructions that cells
need to carry out all the
functions of life.

Nucleic acid – very large

organic molecules made
up of carbon, oxygen,
hydrogen, nitrogen, and
phosphorus.
 2 Types of Nucleic Acid :
1. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)- the
genetic material that carries
information about an organism. It
is passed from parent to offspring.
-DNA directs all cellular
activities and is ONLY found in
the nucleus of a cell.
2. RNA (ribonucleic acid) – a nucleic
acid found in the nucleus and
cytoplasm of
cells that plays an important role
in the production of proteins.
 Nucleotides & Genetic Organization
-Nucleic acids are made up of nucleotides.

Nucleotides have 3 basic parts :

1. A 5-carbon sugar.
2. A phosphate group.
3. A nitrogenous (nitrogen-containing) base.

Levels of genetic organization :

Nucleotide Gene DNA Chromosomes Genome

smallest code for made tightly coiled the entire
building our traits of many strands of DNA genetic
block of genes make-up of
a gene an organism
 B. Composition of DNA
Major parts of a DNA nucleotide :

1. A 5-carbon sugar called deoxyribose.

2. Phosphates

3. Four different nitrogenous bases (rungs of the ladder) :

a. Adenine (A)

b. Thymine (T)

c. Guanine (G)

d. Cytosine (C)
Pairing the Nitrogenous Bases in DNA
*Adenine always pairs
(matches up) with thymine
and guanine always pairs
(is complementary to) with
cytosine.

-These nitrogenous bases

make up four different
possible nucleotides in
DNA.

-Many nucleotides (basic

unit of nucleic acids)
placed together make one
DNA molecule.
 C. Structure of DNA
James Watson & Francis Crick –
American biologist & British
physicist who built the first
accurate structural model of DNA
(Nobel Prize in 1962).

-Watson & Crick’s model of DNA

was a double helix (twisted
ladder), in which 2 strands were
wound around each other.
 Structure of DNA con’t.
-The outside/sides of the
ladder are made of
deoxyribose sugar and
phosphates.

-The rungs of the ladder

are the nitrogenous bases
(connect to deoxyribose
sugar in the outside/side
of the ladder).
Identifying Base Pairs
***DNA strands are complimentary to one another (match
up
with each other). A & T and G & C ***

Given the following sequences of DNA, find the

complementary strands :
a. AGT b. CAG

TCA GTC

c. CTT d. AGC

GAA TCG
II. DNA Replication
*Before cells divide, they
make copies of their DNA.

-DNA Replication ensures

that each daughter cell will
have all of the genetic
information it needs to carry
out its activities.

-DNA replication is
semiconservative, meaning
that when DNA copies, each
new strand has ½ of the
original strand.
Major steps in DNA Replication :
1. DNA unwinds (untwists) exposing the
nitrogenous bases.

2. DNA unzips – weak hydrogen bonds

between nitrogenous bases break.

*Hydrogen bonds are the weakest type

of bond that occurs in molecules.

3. New complimentary strands form –

nitrogenous bases floating in the
nucleus of the cell pair up with the bases
on each half of the DNA molecule.

4. Two new DNA molecules that are exactly

alike are formed.

-Both new strands are identical to the

original strand of DNA.
III. The Function of Genes in DNA
*Proteins determine the size,
shape, and many other traits
of an organism, ex : eye
color, hair color, type of
hairline, etc.

-Each gene in a DNA

molecule codes for the
production of a particular
protein.

Gene – a small portion of the

DNA molecule that codes for
a particular trait/protein.
Order of Nitrogenous Bases
-The order of the nitrogenous
bases along a gene forms a
genetic code that specifies what
type of protein will be produced.

-The order of the nitrogenous

bases tells the cell which amino
acids to put together to make a
protein. If one amino acid is
changed or out of place, a
different protein is made.

-Since DNA cannot leave the

nucleus to make proteins at the
ribosomes, RNA directs protein
synthesis.
IV. RNA (ribonucleic acid)
Major parts of an RNA nucleotide :

1. Ribose sugar (a 5-carbon sugar)

2. Phosphates

3. Four different nitrogenous bases :

a. Adenine (A)

b. Uracil (U)

c. Cytosine (C)

d. Guanine (G)
How RNA makes a protein
-There are 3 major types of RNA.

1. mRNA – (messenger RNA)

carries information from the
nucleus to the rest of the cell.

2. tRNA – (transfer RNA)

transfers amino acids to
ribosomes during protein
synthesis.

3. rRNA – (ribosomal RNA) makes

up a major part of ribosomes.
 When making proteins :
1. mRNA carries DNA’s
message to the
ribosomes (site of
protein synthesis)
in the cytoplasm.

2. Ribosomes (like a
decoder ring)
translate (interpret)
the RNA code into a
protein.
V. Differences between DNA and RNA
1. RNA has uracil and DNA has
thymine.

2. RNA is a single helix and

DNA is a double helix.

3. RNA is very small and DNA

is very large.

4. RNA can travel between the

nucleus and the cytoplasm,
DNA is only in
the nucleus.

5. RNA has ribose sugar and

DNA has deoxyribose.
Given the following sequences of DNA,
find the matching RNA strands :

a. AGC b. AAC

UCG UUG

c. GAA d. ATC

CUU UAG