BASIC CONCEPTS OF GENETICS

DNA, RNA &

Structure of Nucleic
Acids
LESSON LEARNING OUTCOMES

1 2
IDENTIFY the evidence STATE & EXPLAIN the
that DNA is the GENETIC concept of “Trinity of
MATERIAL Molecular Genetics”

3 4
Able to DESCRIBE the Able to DIFFERENTIATE
structure and
the structure of
components of NUCLEIC
ACIDS DNA & RNA
 EVIDENCE THAT DNA IS THE
GENETIC MATERIAL
• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was described as a
biochemical substance in 1871.

• Its role as the carrier of genetic information was

not published until 1944.

• DNA was shown to be associated with

chromosomes in the late 19th century but NUCLEAR
PROTEINS were generally considered to be the
more likely carrier of genetic information.

• The following are some of the early lines of

evidence that DNA carries genetic information…
 EVIDENCE THAT DNA IS THE
GENETIC MATERIAL
Brooker Text Book
Chapter 9. pg 222-227

• FREDERICK GRIFFITH DISCOVERS BACTERIAL

1928 TRANSFORMATION

• AVERY, McLeod and McCarty REPORTED THE TRANSFORMING

1944 AGENT IS DNA

• HERSHEY & CHASE PROVE PROTEIN IS NOT THE HEREDITARY

1952 MATERIAL

• JAMES WATSON AND FRANCIS CRICK PROPOSED A MODEL

1953 STRUCTURE OF DNA
1928 - Frederick Griffith found that non-living material derived
from a "smooth" strain of Streptococcus pneumonia (which has a
polysaccharide on its outer surface that protects it from the immune
system of mice and makes it virulent) was able to transform a living
non-virulent "rough" strain that lacked the protective coat into a
virulent "smooth" strain.
1944 - Avery, McLeod and
McCarty reported that the
active substance in the non-
living material was DNA.
1952 - Hershey and Chase
used radioactive labels to
show that when bacteriophage
infects bacteria, bacteriophage
DNA labeled with 32P enters
the bacterial cell whereas
bacteriophage protein labeled
with 35S does not.
 FUN FACTS ABOUT DNA
DNA stands for
DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC
ACID
The most common
form of DNA is
DOUBLE STRANDED
DNA is too small to see,
but under a microscope it
looks like a twisted up
ladder!
The rungs of the ladder
are made up of ‘bases’
Adenine (A), Thymine (T),
Cytosine (C), Guanine (G)
A always pair with T
in DNA. C pairs with
G in DNA. A+C = T+G
The 5’ to 3’ polarity of the
two strands is opposite and
they are held together by
hydrogen bonding between
nucleotide base pairs
During DNA
replication, the two
strands separate
and each is used as
template for
synthesis of a new
complimentary
strand.
 DNA IS THE GENETIC MATERIAL
• The molecular expression of genes within cells leads to an
organism’s traits
• The information within the DNA is accessed during the process of
gene expression (TRANSCRIPTION & TRANSLATION)
• Genetic information is transcribed from DNA to RNA, with the anti
sense strand of the DNA serving as a template for synthesis of an
RNA with the same base sequence (5' to 3') as the sense strand of
the double helical DNA.
• Genetic information contained in messenger RNA (mRNA) is
translated into a sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain
during protein synthesis (translation).
• During translation, the RNA strand is used to specify the sequence
of amino acids within a protein
• This protein functions within the cell influencing organism’s trait
 The Trinity of Molecular Genetics:
DNA, RNA and PROTEIN

1. Process transferring information

from DNA to RNA – transcription
2. Subsequent conversion of the
genetic information in RNA into a
protein – translation
3. PROTEINS are the links between
genotype (genes) and phenotypes
(traits)
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENES
& TRAITS Brooker Text Book
Chapter 1. pg 7
• The expression of genes within cells
leads to an organism’s trait

(a) MOLECULAR LEVEL

Different alleles encode slightly
different proteins
e.g. Enzymes producing different
amount of pigment

(b) CELLULAR LEVEL

Differenet alleles  different forms of
a given trait
e.g. Dark or light-pigmented moths

(c) POPULATION LEVEL

Different forms of a trait can influence
survival
e.g. Differential predation
 THE CENTRAL DOGMA IN EUKARYOTE
• Eukaryotic cells have their
genetic material separated from
the cytoplasm in a membrane-
bound nucleus.
• The nuclear envelope restricts
and regulates the passage of
materials between the two
compartments.
• DNA synthesis and transcription
(RNA synthesis) occur within the
nucleus.
• Messenger RNA (mRNA) is then
processed and transported to
the cytoplasm for use as a
template for translation (protein
synthesis).
• This causes translation to be
separated both in space and in
time from transcription.
 THE CENTRAL DOGMA IN PROKARYOTE

• In prokaryotes (organisms without a nuclear membrane), DNA undergoes

replication and transcription and RNA undergoes translation in an
undivided compartment. All three processes can occur simultaneously.
Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic

• Prokaryotic cells, which include bacteria and some

primitive algae, are much smaller and have a simpler
structure, with no true separation of DNA from the
cytoplasm.
• Because of this, transcription and translation occur in the
same space and overlap in time.
• In fact, translation of an mRNA will normally begin soon
after its transcription has been initiated, and long before
synthesis of a full-length message has been completed.
• Double stranded DNA is the genetic material in all
eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, as well as mitochondria,
chloroplasts, plasmids and many types of viruses.
• Some types of viruses have single stranded DNA genomes.
• Some types of viruses have single stranded or double
stranded RNA genomes
 The Trinity of Molecular Genetics:
DNA, RNA and protein
• THREE MOLECULES involved in genetic control of inherited
traits or heredity:
① DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA)
② RIBONUCLEIC ACID(RNA)
③ PROTEIN
• MOLECULAR GENETICS is the study of
i) The principal molecules of heredity
(DNA, RNA and protein)
ii) How they are organized within cell
iii) How they interact within cell
 The Trinity of Molecular Genetics:
DNA, RNA and protein
 DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) - serves as the genetic
material in all living organisms
 DNA is organized into GENES that stores genetic
information
 Information contained in genes can be transmitted by
parents through gametes to their offspring
 Genetic information in DNA will be transferred to a closely
related nucleic acid, RNA (ribonucleic acid)
 RNA carries genetic information from nucleus into the
cytoplasm of the cell
 Information in RNA will be translated into proteins
 NUCLEIC ACIDS

What is NUCLEIC ACID ?

Chemical properties that carry genetic information.
Polynucleotides made up of individual nucleotides
linked together.

1. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIBOSE &

DEOXYRIBOSE IN TERMS OF STRUCTURE?
2. WHAT ARE THE SIMILARITIES?
ANSWER 1 : THE DIFFERENCES
DEOXYRIBOSE RIBOSE

DEOXYRIBOSE HAS ONLY RIBOSE HAS A

A HYDROGEN ON HYDROXYL GROUP ON
CARBON 2’ CARBON 2’
ANSWER 2 : THE SIMILARITIES
BOTH DEOXYRIBOSE & RIBOSE
Hydroxyl groups (-OH) on carbons 3 and 5.

In the configuration found in nucleic acids, carbons

1 through 4 are part of a ring structure, whereas
carbon 5 is on the side chain.
 The building blocks or
genetic units of nucleic acid
are called nucleotides
NUCLEOTIDE
Three (3) components
that make up a single unit
of nucleotide:

1. Pentose sugar
2. Phosphate group
3. Nitrogenous base

Nitrogenous Base:
Purine
(Adenine & Guanine)
Pyrimidine
(Cytosine & Thymine)
 PHOSPHATE
• In both RNA and DNA, the
phosphate groups form
phosphodiester linkages between
the 3' hydroxyl group on one
pentose sugar and the 5' hydroxyl
group on the next pentose sugar.
• The polymeric structure consisting
of alternating sugar and phosphate
residues provides nucleic acids
with an extended backbone
structure.
• The pentose sugars in the nucleic
acid backbones all have the same
5' to 3' orientation, giving each
chain a 5' to 3' directionality.
 PURINEs
• Purines are flat planar molecules consisting of a six
member ring fused to a five member ring, with two
nitrogen in each of the rings.
• Adenine (A) has amino nitrogen at position 6 of its larger
ring
• Guanine (G) has amino nitrogen at position 2 and oxygen
at position 6 of the larger ring.
• A and G occur in both DNA and RNA.
• The bond between the purines and the nucleic acid
backbone is from position 1' on the pentose sugar to
position 9 (a nitrogen in the smaller ring) of the purine.
 PYRIMIDINEs
• Pyrimidines are flat planar molecules consisting of a single six
member heterocyclic ring containing two nitrogens.
• Please note that the numbering of positions in pyrimidines is
different than in the six-membered ring of purines
• Cytosine (C) has amino nitrogen at position 4 and oxygen at
position 2. It is found both in DNA and in RNA.
• Uracil (U), which is only in RNA, has oxygens at positions 2 and 4
of its ring.
• Thymine (T), which is only in DNA, is identical to uracil, except
that it has an added methyl group at position 5 of its ring.
• The bond between pyrimidines and the nucleic acid backbone is
from position 1' on the pentose sugar to position 1 (a nitrogen) in
the pyrimidine ring.
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 DNA (deoxyribonucleic)

 at C1, sugar attached to

nitrogenous base
 at C5, sugar attached to
phosphate group
 at C2, only H atom is attached
instead of OH group, that’s why
the sugar is known as
deoxyribose

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DNA (deoxyribonucleic)
 Nucleotide sequences
in DNA are always
read 5' to 3‘
 The 5' to 3' orientations
of the two strands in a
DNA double helix are
in the opposite
directions.
 The two strands are
described as being
antiparallel in their
orientation.
 DNA (deoxyribonucleic)
• PURINE and PYRIMIDINE bases
form hydrogen bonded base pairs
in double stranded DNA

• The normal pattern of base pairing

in DNA is A to T and G to C.

• Abnormal pairing during DNA

synthesis can result in mutation.

• The base pairs in the DNA double

helix are flat planar structures

• In the DNA double helix, the flat

base pairs are tightly stacked on
top of one another, with the
deoxyribose phosphate backbones
wound around the outside of the
stack.
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 DNA (deoxyribonucleic)

• The base pairs are 3.4 Å (0.34

nm) thick, with ten base pairs
per complete turn of the double
helix
• The two deoxyribose phosphate
backbones are unevenly spaced
around the helix, such that there
is a wide groove and a narrow
groove between them.
• Separation of DNA strands
(melting) occurs at high salt
levels and/or high temperature.
• GC base pairs have 3 hydrogen
bonds and are more stable than
AT base pairs, which only have
2  Stability of double-helical
DNA increases with higher GC
content.
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RNA (ribonucleic)
 A (Adenine) = U (Uracil);
G (Guanine) = C
(Cytosine).
 at C2, the sugar ribose
differs from the
deoxyribose by having a
OH group (hydroxyl)
 formation of RNA
polynucleotide similar
with polynucleotide in
DNA, only single chain
polynucleotide makes
up the RNA

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 RNA (ribonucleic)
• RNA is much like a single strand of DNA, and can pair with a
single complementary strand of DNA to form an antiparallel
double helical structure.

• Three (3) major classes of RNA are involved in protein

synthesis, messenger RNA (mRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and
transfer RNA (tRNA).

• RNA sequences are read 5' to 3' in the same manner as DNA.

• The coding sequence in mRNA is the same as that of the sense

strand of DNA, except that U replaces T.
Any Questions??
 REFLECTION…
• WHAT ARE THE 3 KEY EXPERIMENTS THAT PROVIDE THE
EVIDENCE THAT DNA IS THE GENETIC MATERIAL?
• What does it mean by “TRINITY OF MOLECULAR GENETICS” ?

• WHAT ARE THE THREE COMPONENTS THAT MAKE UP A

SINGLE UNIT OF NUCLEOTIDE?
• WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DNA & RNA?
 DNA VS RNA
RNA
• Single-stranded
• Basic unit is
ribonucleotide
• The sugar is ribose
• The bases are C, G, A, U
• Normally short
• Not stable
• Present in both nucleus
and cytoplasm
• Three (3) RNA: tRNA,
mRNA and rRNA
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