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DNA Structure & Replication

The document discusses the discovery of DNA as the genetic material. It describes early experiments like Griffith's work on bacterial transformation and Avery's finding that DNA is the transforming agent. Later, Hershey and Chase used radioactive isotopes to show that DNA, not protein, enters the host cell during viral infection. Watson and Crick then proposed the double helix model of DNA structure based on Chargaff's rules about nucleotide base ratios. The document goes on to explain DNA replication, with semi-conservative replication allowing for cell division and inheritance of genetic information.

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298 views25 pages

DNA Structure & Replication

The document discusses the discovery of DNA as the genetic material. It describes early experiments like Griffith's work on bacterial transformation and Avery's finding that DNA is the transforming agent. Later, Hershey and Chase used radioactive isotopes to show that DNA, not protein, enters the host cell during viral infection. Watson and Crick then proposed the double helix model of DNA structure based on Chargaff's rules about nucleotide base ratios. The document goes on to explain DNA replication, with semi-conservative replication allowing for cell division and inheritance of genetic information.

Uploaded by

ivanam0202
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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DNA Structure & Replication

Unit I - Genetic Continuity Sections 12-1 / 12-2 Mr. Connors Biology 12

Searching for Genetic Material, I


Mendel: modes of heredity in pea plants Morgan: genes located on chromosomes Griffith: bacterial work; transformation: change in genotype and phenotype due to assimilation of external substance (DNA) by a cell Avery: transformation agent was DNA

Video

Genes & DNA


What did scientists discover about the relationship between genes and DNA?
Avery and other scientists discovered that the nucleic acid DNA stores and transmits the genetic information from one generation of an organism to the next.

Searching for Genetic Material, II

Hershey and Chase


bacteriophages (phages) DNA, not protein, is the hereditary material Expt: sulfur(S) is in protein, phosphorus (P) is in DNA; only P was found in host cell

Hershey and Chase Conclusion


Nearly all the radioactivity in the bacteria was from phosphorus (32P). Hershey and Chase concluded that the genetic material of the bacteriophage was DNA, not protein.

DNA and chromosomes


In prokaryotic cells, DNA is located in the cytoplasm. Most prokaryotes have a single DNA molecule containing nearly all of the cells genetic information.

Prokaryotic Cell

Eukaryotic cells

Many eukaryotes have 1000 times the amount of DNA as prokaryotes. Eukaryotic DNA is located in the cell nucleus inside chromosomes. The number of chromosomes varies widely from one species to the next.

Chromosome Structure
Eukaryotic chromosomes contain DNA and protein, tightly packed together to form chromatin. Chromatin consists of DNA tightly coiled around proteins called histones. DNA and histone molecules form nucleosomes. Nucleosomes pack together, forming a thick fiber.

Eukaryotic chromosome structure

DNA Structure
Chargaffs Rule ratio of nucleotide bases (Adenine=Thymine; Cytosine=Guanine) Watson & Crick built DNA model with the help of Wilkins& Franklin The Double Helix nucleotides consist of: - nitrogenous bases (thymine, adenine, cytosine, guanine); -a five-carbon sugar (deoxyribose) - phosphate group

DNA Model Assignment


In pairs design and construct a threedimensional model of a DNA molecule following these structural guidelines: - Include a minimum number of six base pairs. - Show all possible base pair combinations. - Make the model self-supporting. - Include a key for the identification of various components.

X-Ray Evidence
Rosalind Franklin used X-ray diffraction to get information about the structure of DNA. She aimed an X-ray beam at concentrated DNA samples and recorded the scattering pattern of the X-rays on film.

DNA Bonding

Purines: A & G Pyrimidines: C & T (Chargaff rules) A H+ bonds (2) with T and C H+ bonds (3) with G Van der Waals attractions between the stacked pairs

DNA Replication

Watson & Crick

strands are complementary; nucleotides line up on template according to base pair rules (Watson)

DNA Replication: a closer look


Origin of replication (bubbles): beginning of replication Replication fork: Y-shaped region where new strands of DNA are elongating Helicase: catalyzes the untwisting of the DNA at the replication fork DNA polymerase: catalyzes the elongation of new DNA

How replication occurs

DNA replication is carried out by enzymes that unzip a molecule of DNA. Hydrogen bonds between base pairs are broken and the two strands of DNA unwind. The principal enzyme involved in DNA replication is DNA polymerase. DNA polymerase joins individual nucleotides to produce a DNA molecule and then proofreads each new DNA strand.

DNA Replication

DNA Replication

Antiparallel nature:

sugar/phosphate backbone runs in opposite directions (Crick) one strand runs 5 to 3, while the other runs 3 to 5; DNA polymerase only adds nucleotides at the free 3 end, forming new DNA strands in the 5 to 3 direction only

DNA Replication

Leading strand: synthesis toward the replication fork (only in a 5 to 3 direction from the 3 to 5 master strand) Lagging strand: synthesis away from the replication fork (Okazaki fragments); joined by DNA ligase (must wait for 3 end to open; again in a 5 to 3 direction) Initiation: Primer (short RNA sequence~w/primase enzyme), begins the replication process

Video DNA Replication

DNA Repair

Mismatch repair: DNA polymerase Excision repair: Nuclease Telomere ends: telomerase

DNA Review Questions


1. What are nucleotides? Describe their structure. 2. Describe the work of Avery, and explain how it implicated nucleic acids as the genetic material. 3. Summarize the Hershey and Chase experiment and explain what their results suggested. 4. Chargaff made an important contribution to uncovering the structure of DNA. What were his findings and what do they indicate? 5. Who proposed the double helix model for the DNA molecule. 6. Describe how DNA and RNA differ in their composition, structure, function, and location. 7. What is meant when we say that DNA replication is complementary? 8. Why is DNA replication important for every cell? 9. Compare the amount of DNA in a muscle cell with that in a brain cell. 10. Whose work demonstrated that DNA replication is semi-conservative?

11.What is meant by saying that DNA replication is semiconservative? 12. Briefly describe the steps in DNA replication. 13. Why is replication on one strand of DNA continuous, while on the other strand the replication must be discontinuous? 14. What functional group is at the 5' end of a DNA molecule? 15. Proofreading enzymes scan DNA to check for base pairing errors. Explain why these enzymes are important. 16. A certain chemical is known to fuse thymine with adenine. Comment on the possible effects of exposure to this chemical. 17. Why is the making of exact copies of DNA called replication rather than duplication? 18. If human DNA contains approximately 3x109 base pairs, and DNA polymerase can work at the rate of about 50 nucleotides per second, how can our DNA be replicated so quickly? 19. If 27 percent of the bases in a certain segment of DNA were adenine, what would be the percentages of thymine , cytosine , and guanine . 20. A segment of chromosomal DNA which contains instructions for one protein is a _________.

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