Portia A. Egken, Ed.

CENTRAL DOGMA OF
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
 RNA STRUCTURE

• Single stranded
• Ribonucleic acid, ribose
as sugar
• Uracil replaces thymine
as a pyrimidine base
 PROTEIN STRUCTURE

• PROTEIN is the end product of DNA translation

• Polymers of repeating units of amino acids.
• There 20 amino acids
AMINO ACID STRUCTURE
 PROTEIN FORMATION
• Formation of protein start with
amino acids connecting with
each other through peptide bond
• Polypeptide or peptide refers to
two significant amino acids
connecting with each other.
• Peptide bond forms between
carboxyl group (COOH) and the
amino group (NH2) of another
amino group and release water
called hydration synthesis
Four Level of Protein Structure
 Primary structure
The linear sequence of amino acids forming the backbone of a protein.

• Peptides: di-, three-, tetra- peptides

• Oligopeptides: up to 20 amino acids
• Polypeptides: from 20 to 50 amino acids
• Proteins: > 50 amino acids
 Secondary structure
Definition: Form from primary structure which at some point an amino group
bonds with carboxyl group from the same chain.

Two types of
secondary
structures:

 α-helix,
 β-pleaded sheet,
 Tertiary structure
Complete three-dimensional shape of a
given protein. Conformation.

Represent the spatial relationship of the

different secondary structures to one
another within a polypeptide chain and
how these secondary structures
themselves fold into the three-
The spiral regions represent sections of the polypeptide chain
dimensional form of the protein. that have an α-helical structure, while the broad arrows
represent β-pleated sheet structures.
 Quaternary structure of proteins

Monomeric proteins:

– built of a single polypeptide chain.

Oligomeric proteins:

– built of more than one polypeptide chains called

subunits or monomers.
 DNA Replication
• Purpose: cells need to
make a copy of DNA
before dividing so
each daughter cell has
a complete copy of
genetic information
 Replication: 1st step (UNWINDING)
• Unwind DNA
• helicase enzyme
• unwinds part of DNA helix
• stabilized by single-stranded binding proteins
• PREVENTS DNA MOLECULE FROM CLOSING!
• DNA gyrase
• Enzyme that prevents tangling upstream from the replication fork
helicase gyrase

single-stranded binding proteins replication fork

Replication: 2nd step (POLYMERIZATION)
• RNA Primase
• Adds small section of RNA
(RNA primer) to the
3’ end of template DNA
• Why must this be done?
• DNA polymerase 3
(enzyme that builds
new DNA strand) can
only add nucleotides
to existing strands of
DNA
 Replication: 3rd step
 Build daughter DNA
strand
 add new

complementary bases
 With the help of the

enzyme DNA
DNA
Polymerase III
polymerase III
 Replication: 4th step

• Replacement of RNA primer by DNA

• Done by DNA polymerase I
 Okazaki

Leading & Lagging strands

Limits of DNA polymerase III
 can only build onto 3 end of
an existing DNA strand 5


rag ments
ki f
Okaza 5
3 5 5 3
3
5 Lagging strand
3
ligase
growing 3
replication fork
5
Leading strand

Lagging strand
3
5

3
DNA polymerase III
 Okazaki fragments
 joined by ligase Leading strand
AP Biology  “spot welder” enzyme  continuous synthesis
 DNA replication on the lagging strand
RNA primer is added
 built by primase
 serves as starter sequence for DNA polymerase III

HOWEVER short segments called Okazaki fragments

are made because it can only go in a 5 3 direction

5

3 5 3
5
3
3 5

growing 3 primase
replication fork DNA polymerase III
5

RNA 5

AP Biology 3
 Replacing RNA primers with DNA
NEXT DNA polymerase I
 removes sections of RNA DNA polymerase I
primer and replaces with 5

DNA nucleotides 3

3
5 ligase
growing 3
replication fork
5

RNA 5

3

STRANDS ARE GLUED

TOGETHER BY DNA LIGASE
AP Biology
 Replication fork
DNA
polymerase III lagging strand
DNA
polymerase I
3’
Okazaki primase
fragments 5’
5’ ligase
SSB
3’ 5’
3’ helicase

DNA
polymerase III
5’ leading strand
3’
direction of replication
AP Biology
SSB = single-stranded binding proteins
END