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DNA Structure

The document outlines the structure and components of DNA, detailing the chemical nature of polynucleotides, including nucleotides and nucleosides. It describes the double helix structure proposed by Watson and Crick, emphasizing the specific base pairing between adenine and thymine, and guanine and cytosine. Additionally, it discusses the size of DNA and its genetic capacity, providing examples of DNA sizes in various organisms.

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USAMA TAHIR
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26 views17 pages

DNA Structure

The document outlines the structure and components of DNA, detailing the chemical nature of polynucleotides, including nucleotides and nucleosides. It describes the double helix structure proposed by Watson and Crick, emphasizing the specific base pairing between adenine and thymine, and guanine and cytosine. Additionally, it discusses the size of DNA and its genetic capacity, providing examples of DNA sizes in various organisms.

Uploaded by

USAMA TAHIR
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DNA Structure

Aamir Ghafoor
The Chemical Nature of Polynucleotides

 Biochemists determined the components of nucleotides


during the 1940s
 The component parts of DNA
 Nitrogenous bases:
 Adenine (A)
 Cytosine (C)
 Guanine (G)
 Thymine (T)
 Phosphoric acid
 Deoxyribose sugar

2-2
Purines and Pyrimidines

2-3
Nucleotides and Nucleosides
 Bases use ordinary
numbers
 Carbons in sugars are
noted as primed
numbers
 Nucleotides contain
phosphoric acid
 Nucleosides lack the
phosphoric acid

2-4
DNA Nucleotides

 Nucleotides may contain one, two, or even three


phosphate groups linked in a chain

2-5
A Trinucleotide

The example trinucleotide


has polarity
 Top of molecule has a free
5’-phosphate group = 5’
end
 Bottom has a free 3’-
hydroxyl group = 3’ end

2-6
Summary
 DNA and RNA are chain-like molecules composed of
subunits called nucleotides
 Nucleotides contain a base linked to the 1’-position of a
sugar and a phosphate group
 Phosphate joins the sugars in a DNA or RNA chain
through their 5’- and 3’-hydroxyl groups by
phosphodiester bonds

2-7
Anti-parallel strands

2-8
DNA Structure
The Double Helix
 Rosalind Franklin’s x-ray data suggested that DNA
had a helical shape
 The data also indicated a regular, repeating structure
 DNA was believed to require an irregular sequence
 Watson and Crick proposed a double helix with
sugar-phosphate backbones on the outside and bases
aligned to the interior

2-9
DNA Helix
 Structure
compared to a
twisted ladder
 sugar-phosphate
backbone
 Ladder rungs are
the base pairs
 There are about 10
base pairs per turn
 Antiparallel

2-10
2-11
Summary
 The DNA molecule is a double helix, with sugar-
phosphate backbones on the outside and base pairs on
the inside
 The bases pair in a specific way:
 Adenine (A) with thymine (T)
 Guanine (G) with cytosine (C)

2-12
DNA Sizes
DNA size is expressed in 3 different ways:
 Number of base pairs
 Molecular weight – 660 is molecular weight of 1 base pair
 Length – 33.2 Å per helical turn of 10.4 base pairs
Measure DNA size either using electron microscopy or gel
electrophoresis

2-13
Summary
 Natural DNAs come in sizes ranging from several
kilobases to thousands of megabases
 The size of a small DNA can be estimated by electron
microscopy
 This technique can also reveal whether a DNA is circular
or linear and whether it is supercoiled

2-14
DNA Size and Genetic Capacity
How many genes are in a piece of DNA?
 Start with basic assumptions
 Gene encodes protein
 Protein is abut 40,000 D
 How many amino acids does this represent?
 Average mass of an amino acid is about 110 D
 Average protein – 40,000 / 110 = 364 amino acids
 Each amino acid = 3 DNA base pairs
 364 amino acids requires 1092 base pairs

2-15
DNA Genetic Capacity
How large is an average piece of DNA?
 E. coli chromosome
 4.6 x 106 bp
 ~4200 proteins
 Phage l (infects E. coli)
 4.85 x 104 bp
 ~44 proteins
 Phage x174 (one of smallest)
 5375 bp
 ~5 proteins

2-16
Thank you very much

2-17

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