MOLECULAR

STRUCTURE OF DNA
AND CHROMOSOME
 MOLECULAR
STRUCTURE OF
DNA
 • DNA – Deoxyribonucleic
acid
• Double stranded

DNA
• Have a double-helix
structure
• The genetic material of
living organisms
• Made out of chains of
nucleotides.
 • Deduced by James Watson
and Francis Crick in 1953
• Based on the Chargaff’s
law (by Erwin Chargaff)

DNA • X-ray
provided
diffraction
by
data
Rosalind
Franklin and Maurice
Wilkins
• Approximately 2 meter long
 BACKBONE

DNA
BASE PAIRS
Components of DNA
BACKBONE
• Made out of
Phosphate-sugar.
• Phosphate group
and the sugar
Deoxyribose.
Components of DNA
BACKBONE
Sugar -
Phosphate Group
deoxyribose
Components of DNA
BASE PAIRS
• Nitrogenous base
pairs.

FOUR NITROGENOUS BASE PAIRS

Adenine – Thymine
Cytosine – Guanine
 2 TYPES OF NITROGENOUS BASE
PAIRS

PURINES PYRIMIDINES
• Consists of two • Consists of one
rings ring
• Adenine and • Thymine and
Guanine Cytosine
 2 TYPES OF NITROGENOUS BASE
PAIRS

PURINES

𝐶5 𝐻 5 𝑁 5 O
 2 TYPES OF NITROGENOUS BASE
PAIRS

PYRIMIDINES

𝐶5 𝐻 6 𝑁 2 𝑂2 𝐶4 𝐻 5 𝑁 3 O
 • Building blocks of
NUCLEOTIDE DNA.
• Act as coenzymes.
• Involved in storing
energy.
• Provides cellular
energy sources
and other
metabolic
functions.
NUCLEOSIDE
Nucleosides can be named as
follows:
• Adenylic acid (Adenosine)
• Guanylic acid (Guanosine)
• Thymidylic acid (Thymidine)
• Cytidylic acid (Cytidine)
NUCLEOTIDE
Nucleotides can be named
based on the number of
phosphate group:
• Adenosine monosphate
• Adenosine diphosphate
• Adenosine triphosphate
What holds
the DNA?
Dimensions of DNA

• Diameter: 1.9 nm
• Distance of base pair:
0.34 nm
• One turn (): 3.4 nm
• 10 base pairs per turn ()
Different Conformation of DNA
Helix form Helix Base pairs Helix
direction per turn diameter

A Right-handed 11 2.3 nm

B Right-handed 10 1.9 nm

Z Left-handed 12 1.8
 MOLECULAR
STRUCTURE OF
CHROMOSOME
  chroma “color” and
soma “body”.
 A thread-like structure
 Self-replicating
structure
 Contains organized DNA
CHROMOSOME molecule found in the
nucleus
 Responsible for passing
down traits from a
generation to another.
 Autosomes
 Diploid (2n)
 Carries all the
characteristics
TYPES OF except the sex
CHROMOSOME characteristics.
 Carry the
characteristics of
body cells.
 Sex chromosome
 haploid (n)
 Involved in sex
determination
 Humans and almost
TYPES OF all mammals have two
CHROMOSOME sex chromosome the X
and the Y chromosome
 Females have two X
chromosomes while
males have X and Y
chromosome
 Diploid or 2n
 N is the number of
chromosome
CHROMOSOME  Have two homologous
NUMBER copies of each
chromosome
 Found in body cells
 Haploid or n
 Only has one copy of
chromosome
CHROMOSOME
 sex cells/gametes
NUMBER (sperm cell and egg
cell) are haploid
HOMOLOGOUS CHROMOSOME

 Two copies of chromosomes that which are

identical
 Identical in structure, gene content, and
sequence/order
 Inherited from separate parents (one from the
mother and the other pair is from the father)
  Chromosomes are
best observed
during mitotic
metaphase
CHROMOSOME  Chromosomes are
ANATOMY thin, coiled, elastic,
thread-like
structure during the
interphase
 CHROMOSOME
ANATOMY
How chromosomes are
formed?
CHROMOSOME ANATOMY
Chromatid
• one of the two identical
halves of a chromosome.
• A pair would be sister
chromatid, and is joined
by a centromere.
• made up of complex of
DNA and protein, called
nucleosome.
CHROMOSOME ANATOMY
Centromere
• landmark for the
identification of a
chromosome.
• Constriction point of the
chromosome.
• Divides the chromosome
into two arms. The q and
the p, the longer and
shorter arm respectively.
CHROMOSOME ANATOMY
Telomere
• are made of densely packed
DNA and serve to protect
the DNA message that the
chromosome carries.
• made up of repeated T and
G bases. Plays important
role in chromosome
replication and
maintenance of length.
CHROMOSOME ANATOMY

Locus
• “place” each point in the
chromosome. Where
genes are found.
CHROMOSOME ANATOMY

Secondary Constriction
• besides the centromere a
chromosome can have
another constriction,
called secondary
constriction.
CHROMOSOME ANATOMY

Satellite
• The region between the
secondary constriction
and the nearest telomere
• Chromosomes with this
region is called satellite
of sat chromosome.
 The placement of the
centromere – top,
bottom, or middle – is
what gives the
TYPES OF chromosome its
CHROMOSOMES shape.
BASED ON SHAPE • METACENTRIC
• SUBMETACENTRIC
• ACROCENTRIC
• TELOCENTRIC
TYPES OF CHROMOSOMES BASED ON
SHAPE

METACENTRIC
CHROMOSOME
TYPES OF CHROMOSOMES BASED ON
SHAPE

SUBMETACENTRIC
CHROMOSOME
TYPES OF CHROMOSOMES BASED ON
SHAPE

ACROCENTRIC
CHROMOSOME
TYPES OF CHROMOSOMES BASED ON
SHAPE

TELOCENTRIC
CHROMOSOME
  One circular
Chromosome
 Carries Plasmids.
 Genetic material is

Prokaryotic found in the region of

Chromosome cytoplasm called

nucleoid.
 Prokaryotes are
monopoloid.
 Naked molecules of DNA
Prokaryotic Chromosome
• the complete nucleotide sequences of the genomes of many
viruses are known. For example:

the single RNA molecule in the genome of bacteriophage MS2

consists of 3569 nucleotides and contains 4 genes
Prokaryotic Chromosome
Prokaryotic Chromosome