Scribd
Upload
10 views27 pages

DNA Structure and Function

The document provides an overview of DNA structure and function, explaining that DNA is a double helix made of nucleotides, which consist of a deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. It describes the processes of DNA replication, transcription, and translation, highlighting the roles of DNA and RNA in protein synthesis. Additionally, it covers types of mutations and includes prompts for group activities and questions for understanding.

Uploaded by

becami8191
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
10 views27 pages

DNA Structure and Function

The document provides an overview of DNA structure and function, explaining that DNA is a double helix made of nucleotides, which consist of a deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. It describes the processes of DNA replication, transcription, and translation, highlighting the roles of DNA and RNA in protein synthesis. Additionally, it covers types of mutations and includes prompts for group activities and questions for understanding.

Uploaded by

becami8191
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 27

DNA STRUCTURE

AND FUNCTION
What is DNA
Please watch the following video for the basics of DNA.

What is DNA and How Does it Work? - Basics of DNA (youtube.co


m)
Read and answer
• Individually: Please read the science in context page 35

• Group work: Make a timeline for the discovery of DNA including the names of the
scientists and dates.
What does DNA look
like?
• Shape: double helix (twisted
ladder)
Prompt
If a double helix is shaped like a twisted ladder, what would a
single helix be shaped like?

A Spiral
10

DNA is made of
Nucleotides
DNA is double-stranded and is a polymer made of many
smaller units called nucleotides.

Each nucleotide is made up of 3 components:

1. A deoxyribose sugar which is made of 5 carbons (pentose


sugar)

2. A phosphate group

3.A nitrogenous base which could be an adenine, guanine,


cytosine and thymine
Question

If one strand of DNA has the nucleotide sequence TCGAACT,


what must the matching sequence on the other strand be?

AGCTTGA
Tric
k
• Apple in the tree (A-T)
• Cars in the Garage (C-
G)
How are copies of DNA made?
 The cell is able to make copies of DNA molecules through a
process known as replication

 During replication, the two strands of DNA separate.


 The bases on each side of the molecule are used as a pattern
for a new strand.
When replication is complete, there are two identical DNA
molecules.
Video
Please watch the following video for the replications of DNA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSvF5-rBRGQ&t=84s

From 1:25 min to 3:20 min


Mutation

• In a deletion mutation, a base is left out.


• In an insertion mutation, an extra base is added.
• The most common mutation, substitution, happens when
one base replaces another.
Which type of mutation is shown in each row?
(The first row is the original sequence.)

Substitution

Insertion

Deletion
Word-wall games
https://wordwall.net/resource/9176275/dna-match-up

https://wordwall.net/resource/15242884/dna-structure
Protein synthesis video

• Please watch the following video, for the protein making in a c


ell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG7uCskUOrA&t=29s
What is the role of DNA and RNA
in building proteins?

Imagine that you are baking cookies. You have a big


cookbook that contains the recipe. If you take the book
with you into you risk damaging the book and losing
important instructions. You only need one page from
the book, so you can copy the recipe on a piece of
paper and leave the cookbook on the shelf This process
is similar to the way that the cell uses DNA to build
proteins.
First, some of the information in the DNA is
copied to a separate molecule called
ribonucleic acid, or RNA. Then, the copy is
used to build proteins.

Not all the instructions are needed all the


time. Like DNA, RNA has a sugar-phosphate
backbone and the bases adenine (A), guanine
(G), and cytosine (C). But instead of thymine
(T), RNA contains the base uracil (U). Also, the
sugar found in RNA is different from the one in
DNA.

There are three types of RNA: messenger


RNA, ribosomal RNA, and transfer RNA. Each
type of RNA has a special role in making
proteins.
The Information in DNA Is Copied to Messenger RNA
When a cell needs a set of instructions for making a
protein, it first makes an RNA copy of the necessary
section of DNA. This process is called transcription.
What is the role of DNA and RNA in
building proteins?

Transcription involves DNA and messenger RNA (mRNA). Only individual


genes are transcribed, not the whole DNA molecule. During transcription,
DNA is used as a template to make a complementary strand of mRNA. The
DNA opens up where the gene is located. Then RNA bases match up to
complementary bases on the DNA template.

When transcription is complete, the mRNA is released to the cytoplasm


then to the ribosome and the DNA molecule closes.
What is the role of DNA and RNA in
building proteins?

Translation: The Information in Messenger RNA Is Used to Build Proteins once the
mRNA has been made, it is fed through a protein assembly line within a ribosome. A
ribosome is a cell organelle made of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and protein. As mRNA
passes through the ribosome, transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules deliver amino acids to
the ribosome. Each group of three bases on the mRNA strand codes for one amino
acid. So the genetic code determines the order in which amino acids are brought to
the ribosome. The amino acids join together to form a protein. The process making
proteins from rRNA is called translation.
Question
Please answer the following questions on your notebook:

- How does the structure of DNA is differ from the structure of RNA?

- Write an mRNA strand that is complementary to the DNA strand


AATTGC.

- Explain protein synthesis (transcription and translation) in your own


words.
Answers
- How does the structure of DNA is differ from the structure of RNA?
- Answer: RNA has a sugar-phosphate backbone and the bases
adenine (A), guanine (G), and cytosine (C). But instead of thymine
(T), RNA contains the base uracil (U). Also, the sugar found in RNA
is different from the one in DNA.

- Write an mRNA strand that is complementary to the DNA strand


AATTGC.
- Answer: UUAACG
- Explain protein synthesis (transcription and translation) in your own words.
- Answer:
- 1. Transcription: This is the process where the information in DNA is copied
into messenger RNA (mRNA). It happens in the nucleus of the cell. The
enzyme RNA polymerase reads the DNA strand and creates a complementary
strand of mRNA, which carries the genetic code out of the nucleus and into
the cytoplasm.

- 2. Translation: This is where the mRNA is used to build a protein. It happens


in the cytoplasm, at the ribosome. The ribosome reads the sequence of the
mRNA in sets of three bases. Transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules bring the
correct amino acids to the ribosome, where they are linked together to form
a protein.

You might also like