DNA

What is DNA?
• Within the structure of DNA is the information
for life—the complete instructions for
manufacturing all the proteins for an
organism.
• An organic compound made up of repeating
subunits, nucleotides, in two long chains.
• A molecule of life (nucleic acid)
• Shaped like a spiral staircase called the
double helix.
• Primary function is to store & transmit
genetic info to cells to make proteins.
DNA:
THE DOUBLE HELIX

Steps of ladder are bases

(A, T, G, C)

Sides of ladder are sugar &

phosphate

Both sides held together by

hydrogen bonds
The structure of nucleotides
• DNA is a polymer made of repeating
subunits called nucleotides.
Nitrogenous
Phosphate base
group

Sugar (deoxyribose)

• Nucleotides have three parts: a simple

sugar, a phosphate group, and a
nitrogenous base.
• The simple sugar in DNA, called deoxyribose
gives DNA its name—deoxyribonucleic acid.
• The phosphate group is composed of one
atom of phosphorus surrounded by four
oxygen atoms.
• A nitrogenous base is a carbon ring structure
that contains one or more atoms of nitrogen.
• In DNA, there are four possible nitrogenous
bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C),
and thymine (T).
Adenine Guanine Cytosine Thymine
(A) (G) (C) (T)
 5' and 3' ends
5'

4'
1'

3' 2'

2' 3'

1' 4'

5'

Each side is antiparallel, the numbers

represent the carbons attached in a
ring to make deoxyribose
5’ and 3’ ENDS

Each Side is ANTIPARALLEL

 Nitrogen Bases
Adenine (A)
• Purines Contains 2 rings of C & N

Guanine (G)
A or G
Cytosine (C)
• Pyrimidines Contains 1 ring of C & N
Thymine (T)
T or C
Examine the data below. Do you notice
a pattern?
So did Erwin Chargaff...
-noticed that all a species had similar
ratios of A, T, G, C

Chargaff’s Rule

Amount of A, T, G, C varies by species, but

A=T
G=C
 Chargaff’s Rule
• Adenine must pair with Thymine
• Guanine must pair with Cytosine
• Their amounts in a given DNA
molecule will be about the same.
• Each side of DNA is a complement
to the other.

T A G C
 BASE-PAIRINGS
Base # of
Purines Pyrimidines Pairs H-Bonds
Adenine (A) Thymine (T) A=T 2

Guanine (G) Cytosine (C) C G 3

3 H-bonds

G C
The structure of nucleotides

• In DNA, the
amount of adenine
is always equal to
the amount of
thymine, and the
amount of
guanine is always
equal to the
amount of
cytosine.
The importance of nucleotide sequences

The sequence of
nucleotides forms the
Chromosome unique genetic
information of an
organism. The closer
the relationship is
between two
organisms, the more
similar their DNA
nucleotide sequences
will be.
 In what year was the
model of DNA proposed?

1953
Who proposed the double
helix model of DNA?

James Watson
Francis Crick
WATSON & CRICK
 When did Watson &
Crick receive the Nobel
prize for their work?

1962
Figure 13.6d
Who did not receive credit
for their work with DNA
until much later?

Rosalind Franklin &

Maurice Wilkins
actually discovered
the shape of DNA.
ROSALIND FRANKLIN & WILKENS
Took pictures of DNA using X-RAY DIFFRACTION
DNA
 Which way do most
organisms DNA molecules
twist?

Right Hand
Twist
 DNA FACTS
• Humans have 46 Chromosomes
• 100,000 genes on those chromosomes.
• Three billion rungs are on the DNA
ladder.
• It would take 1000 volumes of
encyclopedia for the entire human
genome.
Replication of DNA
• Before a cell can divide by mitosis or
meiosis, it must first make a copy of its
chromosomes.
• The DNA in the chromosomes is copied
in a process called DNA replication.
• Without DNA replication, new cells would
have only half the DNA of their parents.
 Where does DNA replication take
place?
• DNA is copied during interphase prior to
mitosis and meiosis.
• It is important that the new copies are exactly
like the original molecules.

S
DNA replication takes phase
place in the S phase.
G1 interphase G2
•In the Nucleus of
eukaryotes. Mitosis
-prophase
-metaphase
-anaphase
-telophase
 Replication of DNA
• In order for DNA to replicate it must first
separate. The two sides unwind and begin
separation with the aid of an enzyme called
Helicase.
• Each side acts as a template to make a new
copy. Another enzyme, DNA Polymerase,
binds and makes the copy.
• This process does not start & end at the
beginning. It happens at different sites at
different times.
DNA REPLICATION
-the process by which
DNA makes a copy of
itself
-occurs during
interphase, prior to cell
division

Replication is called
semi-conservative,
because one half of the
original strand is always
saved, or "conserved“
1. DNA helicase , replication fork.
2. DNA polymerase adds nucleotides and
binds the sugars and phosphates.

***DNA polymerase travels from the 3' to the 5'

end. The DNA is called the template strand.***

3. One side is the leading strand - it follows

the helicase as it unwinds.
5. The other side is the lagging strand - its moving away
from the helicase (in the 5' to 3' direction).

OKAZAKI FRAGMENTS are bound by DNA LIGASE

Problem: it reaches the replication fork, but the helicase

is moving in the opposite direction. It stops, and another
polymerase binds farther down the chain.

6. Multiple replication forks all down the strand.

Copying DNA

New DNA
molecule

Original
DNA
Strand Free
New DNA Nucleotides New DNA
Strand molecule
Original
DNA
Strand

Original DNA
Figure 13Ab
 Example of Replication
Original DNA strand

A-T-T-C-C-G-A-T-G-C-A

T-A-A-G-G-C-T-A-C-G-T
Complementary strand of DNA
 Accuracy
• There is a high degree of accuracy
in DNA replication.
• There is only 1 error out of every
10,000 pair of nucleotides.
• A change in the DNA sequence is
called a mutation.
 Genes and Proteins
• The sequence of nucleotides in DNA contain
information. This information is put to work
through the production of proteins.
• Proteins fold into complex, 3D shapes to
become key cell structures and regulators of
cell functions.
• Some proteins become important structures,
such as the filaments in muscle tissue.
• Other proteins, such as enzymes, control
chemical reactions that perform key life
functions—breaking down glucose molecules in
cellular respiration, digesting food, or making
spindle fibers during mitosis.
Genes and Proteins
• In fact, enzymes control all the chemical
reactions of an organism.
• Thus, by encoding the instructions for making
proteins, DNA controls cells.
• You learned earlier that proteins are
polymers of amino acids.
• The sequence of nucleotides in each gene
contains information for assembling the string of
amino acids that make up a single protein.
RNA – Ribonucleic acid
• RNA like DNA, is
a nucleic acid.
RNA structure
differs from DNA
structure in three
ways.

• First, RNA is single stranded—it

looks like one-half of a zipper —
whereas DNA is double stranded.
RNA
Ribos
• The sugar in e
RNA is ribose;
DNA’s sugar is
deoxyribose.
RNA
• Both DNA and RNA contain four
nitrogenous bases, but rather than
thymine, RNA contains a similar base
called uracil (U).
• Uracil forms
a base pair
with
adenine in
Uraci RNA, just as
l
Hydrogen bonds Adenine thymine
does in
DNA.
 RNA
• DNA provides workers with the instructions
for making the proteins, and workers build
the proteins.
• The workers for protein synthesis are RNA
molecules.
• They take from DNA the instructions on how
the protein should be assembled, then—
amino acid by amino acid—they assemble the
protein.
• RNA is a disposable copy of DNA.
 RNA
• There are three types of RNA that help build
proteins.
• Messenger RNA (mRNA), brings instructions
from DNA in the nucleus to the cell’s factory
floor, the cytoplasm.
• On the factory floor, mRNA moves to the
assembly line, a ribosome.
• The ribosome, made of ribosomal RNA (rRNA),
binds to the mRNA and uses the instructions to
assemble the amino acids in the correct order.
• Transfer RNA (tRNA) is the supplier. Transfer
RNA delivers amino acids to the ribosome to be
assembled into a protein.
Transcription
• In the nucleus, enzymes make an RNA copy
of a portion of a DNA strand in a process
called transcription.

• The main difference between transcription

and DNA replication is that transcription
results in the formation of one single-
stranded RNA molecule rather than a
double-stranded DNA molecule.
RNA Processing
• Not all the nucleotides in the DNA of
eukaryotic cells carry instructions—or code—
for making proteins.
• Genes usually contain many long noncoding
nucleotide sequences, called introns, that are
scattered among the coding sequences.
• Regions that contain information are called
exons because they are expressed.
• When mRNA is transcribed from DNA, both
introns and exons are copied.
• The introns must be removed from the mRNA
before it can function to make a protein.
 RNA Processing
• Enzymes in the nucleus cut out the intron
segments and paste the mRNA back together.
• The mRNA then leaves the nucleus and
travels to the ribosome.
The Genetic Code
• The nucleotide sequence transcribed from
DNA to a strand of messenger RNA acts as a
genetic message, the complete information for
the building of a protein.
• As you know, proteins contain chains of amino
acids. You could say that the language of
proteins uses an alphabet of amino acids.
The Genetic Code
• A code is needed to convert the language of
mRNA into the language of proteins.
• Biochemists began to crack the genetic code
when they discovered that a group of three
nitrogenous bases in mRNA code for one
amino acid. Each group is known as a codon.
• Sixty-four combinations are possible when a
sequence of three bases is used; thus, 64
different mRNA codons are in the genetic code.
The Genetic Code

The Messenger RNA Genetic Code

First Third
Letter Second Letter
U C Letter A G
U Phenylalanine (UUU) Serine (UCU) Tyrosine (UAU) Cysteine (UGU) U
Phenylalanine (UUC) Serine (UCC) Tyrosine (UAC) Cysteine (UGC) C
Leucine (UUA) Serine (UCA) Stop (UAA) Stop (UGA) A
Leucine (UUG) Serine (UCG) Stop (UAG) Tryptophan (UGG) G
C Leucine (CUU) Proline (CCU) Histadine (CAU) Arginine (CGU) U
Leucine (CUC) Proline (CCC) Histadine (CAC) Arginine (CGC) C
Leucine (CUA) Proline (CCA) Glutamine (CAA) Arginine (CGA) A
Leucine (CUG) Proline (CCG) Glutamine Arginine (CGG) G
(CAG)
A Isoleucine (AUU) Threonine (ACU) Asparagine (AAU) Serine (AGU) U
Isoleucine (AUC) Threonine (ACC) Asparagine (AAC) Serine (AGC) C
Isoleucine (AUA) Threonine (ACA) Lysine (AAA) Arginine (AGA) A
Methionine; (AUG) Threonine (ACG) Lysine (AAG) Arginine (AGG) G
G Valine (GUU) Alanine (GCU) Aspartate (GAU) Glycine (GGU) U
Valine (GUC) Alanine (GCC) Aspartate (GAC) Glycine (GGC) C
Valine (GUA) Alanine (GCA) Glutamate Glycine (GGA) A
Alanine (GCG) (GAA)
Glutamate Glycine (GGG)
Valine (GUG)
(GAG)
G

•Pg. 292 textbook

The Genetic Code
• Some codons do not code for amino acids;
they provide instructions for making the
protein.
• More than one codon can code for the
same amino acid.
• However, for any one codon, there can be
only one amino acid.
• All organisms use the same genetic code.
• This provides evidence that all life on Earth
evolved from a common origin.
 Original DNA

T-G-A – C-T-G – A-T-C – C-C-G

A-C-U – G-A-C – U-A-G – G-G-C

mRNA strand
 Translation: From mRNA to Protein
• The process of converting the information in a
sequence of nitrogenous bases in mRNA into a
sequence of amino acids in protein is known as
translation.
• Translation takes place at the ribosomes in the
cytoplasm.
• In prokaryotic cells, which have no nucleus, the
mRNA is made in the cytoplasm.
• In eukaryotic cells, mRNA is made in the nucleus
and travels to the cytoplasm.
• In cytoplasm, a ribosome attaches to the strand
of mRNA like a clothespin clamped onto a
clothesline.
 The role of transfer RNA
• For proteins to be
Amino
built, the 20 different acid
amino acids
dissolved in the
cytoplasm must be
brought to the Chain of RNA
nucleotides
ribosomes.

• Each tRNA Transfer RNA

molecule
molecule attaches
to only one type
of amino acid. Anticondon
 The role of transfer RNA
• As translation begins, a ribosome attaches to
the starting end of the mRNA strand. Then,
tRNA molecules, each carrying a specific
amino acid, approach the ribosome.
• When a tRNA anticodon pairs with the first
mRNA codon, the two molecules temporarily
join together.
• Usually, the first codon on mRNA is AUG,
which codes for the amino acid methionine.
• AUG signals the start of protein synthesis.
The role of transfer RNA
• When this signal is given, the ribosome slides
along the mRNA to the next codon.

Ribosome

mRNA codon
The role of transfer RNA

Methionine

tRNA
anticodon
The role of transfer RNA
• A new tRNA molecule carrying an amino acid
pairs with the second mRNA codon.

Alanin
e
The role of transfer RNA
• The amino acids are joined when a
peptide bond is formed between them.

Methionin Alanin
e e

Peptide
bond
The role of transfer RNA
• A chain of amino acids is formed until
the stop codon is reached on the mRNA
strand.

Stop
codon
Original DNA

C-T-G-A-A-T-T-C-C-G-A-C
Complementary DNA

G-A-C-T-T-A-A-G-G-C-T-G
mRNA

G-A-C-U-U-A-A-G-G-C-U-G
tRNA

C-U-G-A-A-U-U-C-C-G-A-C
 Mutations
• Organisms have evolved many ways to
protect their DNA from changes.
• In spite of these mechanisms, however,
changes in the DNA occasionally do occur.
• Any change in DNA sequence is called a
mutation.
• Mutations can be caused by errors in
replication, transcription, cell division, or by
external agents.
 Mutations in reproductive cells
• Mutations can affect the reproductive cells of an
organism by changing the sequence of
nucleotides w/in a gene in a sperm or an egg.
• If this cell takes part in fertilization, the altered
gene would become part of the genetic makeup of
the offspring.
• The mutation may produce a new trait or it may
result in a protein that does not work correctly.
• Sometimes, the mutation results in a protein
that is nonfunctional, and the embryo may not
survive.
• In some rare cases a gene mutation may have
positive effects.
 Mutations in body cells
• What happens if powerful radiation, such as
gamma radiation, hits the DNA of a non-
reproductive cell, a cell of the body such as in
skin, muscle, or bone?
• If the cell’s DNA is changed, this mutation would
not be passed on to offspring.
• However, the mutation may cause problems for
the individual.
• Damage to a gene may impair the function of the
cell.
• When that cell divides, the new cells also will
have the same mutation.
 Mutations in body cells
• Some mutations of DNA in body cells affect genes
that control cell division.
• This can result in the cells growing and dividing
rapidly, producing cancer.
• A point mutation is a change in a single base
pair in DNA.
• A change in a single nitrogenous base can
change the entire structure of a protein because
a change in a single amino acid can affect the
shape of the protein.
 The effects of point mutations

mRNA
Normal
Protein
Stop

Replace G with A

Point mRNA
mutation Protein
Stop
 Frameshift mutations
• What would happen if a single base were lost from a DNA
strand?
• This new sequence with the deleted base would be
transcribed into mRNA. But then, the mRNA would be
out of position by one base.
• As a result, every codon after the deleted base would be
different.
• This mutation would cause nearly every amino acid in
the protein after the deletion to be changed.
• A mutation in which a single base is added or
deleted from DNA is called a frameshift mutation
because it shifts the reading of codons by one
base.
 Frameshift mutations

Deletion of U

Frameshift mRNA
mutation Protein
 Chromosomal Alterations
• Changes may occur in chromosomes as well as
in genes.
• Alterations to chromosomes may occur in a
variety of ways.
• Structural changes in chromosomes are called
chromosomal mutations.
• In cases where the zygote lives and develops, the
mature organism is often sterile and thus
incapable of producing offspring.
• When a part of a chromosome is left out, a
deletion occurs.
 Chromosomal Alterations
• When part of a chromatid breaks off and
attaches to its sister chromatid, an insertion
occurs.
• The result is a duplication of genes on the same
chromosome.
• When part of a chromosome breaks off and
reattaches backwards, an inversion occurs.
• When part of one chromosome breaks off and is
added to a different chromosome, a translocation
occurs.
 Causes of Mutations
• Some mutations seem to just happen, perhaps
as a mistake in base pairing during DNA
replication.
• These mutations are said to be spontaneous.
• However, many mutations are caused by factors
in the environment.
• Any agent that can cause a change in DNA
is called a mutagen.
• Mutagens include radiation, chemicals, and even
high temperatures.
Causes of Mutations
• Forms of radiation, such as X rays, cosmic rays,
ultraviolet light, and nuclear radiation, are
dangerous mutagens because the energy they
contain can damage or break apart DNA.
• The breaking and reforming of a double-
stranded DNA molecule can result in deletions.
• Chemical mutagens include dioxins, asbestos,
benzene, and formaldehyde, substances that are
commonly found in buildings and in the
environment.

• Chemical mutagens usually cause substitution

mutations.
 Repairing DNA
• Repair mechanisms that fix mutations in cells
have evolved.
• Enzymes proofread the DNA and replace
incorrect nucleotides with correct nucleotides.
• These repair mechanisms work extremely well,
but they are not perfect.
• The greater the exposure to a mutagen such as
UV light, the more likely is the chance that a
mistake will not be corrected.