Ch.

9 DNA and Its Role in Heredity

9.1 DNA Structure Reflects Its Role as the Genetic Material

Circumstantial evidence suggested that DNA was the genetic material

- DNA:
- DNA is present in the cell nucleus and condensed chromosomes
- Doubled during S phase of the cell cycle
- Was twice as abundant in the diploid cells as in the haploid cells of a given organism
- Showed the same patterns of transmission as the genetic information it was supposed to carry

DNA IN THE NUCLEUS

Miescher declaimed that nuclei was genetic material
DNA IN THE CELLS
The use of dye in the cells showed that the greater the intensity, the more DNA
- Virtually all nondividing somatic cells of a particular organism have the same amount of
nuclear DNA

- Similar experiments show that after meiosis, gametes have half the amount of nuclear
DNA as somatic cell

TRANSMISSION OF DNA
Viruses provided an ideal system to explore, many viruses, including bacteriophage
(viruses that infect bacteria), are composed of DNA and only one or a few kinds of protein

- Experimental evidence confirmed that DNA is genetic material

- Biologists used model organisms such as bacteria in transformation experiments.
- A whole new genetically transformed organism can result; such an organism is referred to as
transgenic

The discovery of the three-dimensional structure of DNA was a milestone in biology

1
- The structure of DNA was deciphered only after many types of experimental evidence was
considered together

- Most crucial evidence was obtained using a X-ray Crystallography

The nucleotide composition of DNA was known

- The only differences amount the four nucleotides of DNA are the bases: the purines A and G
and pyrimidines C and T

- Chargaff made a rule that said A=T and G=C

Watson and Crick described the double helix

- Crick and Watson found the double helix structure

- Franklins results helped them find that the DNA is helical it was shaped like a spring
- Modeling studies also showed that the strand run in opposite directions and are antiparallel

The nucleotide bases are on the interior of the two strains, with a sugar phosphate backbone
To satisfy Chargaff's rule purines=pyrimidines
The base pairs have the same width down the double helix, a uniformity shown by X ray
Four key features define DNA structure

It is a double stranded helix of uniform diameter

It is right handed
It is antiparallel
There are major and minor grooves
The double helical structure of DNA is essential to its function

- Storage of genetic information with its millions of nucleotides, the base sequence of a DNA
can encode and store an enormous amount of info

- Precise replication during the cell division cycle

- Susceptibility to mutations
- Expression of the coded information as phenotypes

2
9.2 DNA Replicates Semiconservatively

- Semiconservative replication means that each strand of the parental DNA acts as a template
for a new strand, which is added by base pairing

- DNA replication involves

The double helix is unwound to separate the two template strands
As new nucleotides form complementary base pairs wit template DNA they are covalently
linked

- Nucleotides are added to the 3' end of the growing new strand
- dATP dCTP dGTP and dTTP are called deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dNTP)
DNA polymerase add nucleotides to the growing chain

- DNA polymerase catalyzes the enzyme

- The chromosomes have at least one region called the origin of replication (ori) to which the
prereplication complex binds

Origins of Replication

DNA unwinds and replication proceeds in both directions around the circle, forming two
replication forks

Eukaryotic chromosomes have multiple origins of replication, scattered at intervals

- Ori region is where the complex binds which is where the DNA starts to unwind from.
- A chromosome is one long piece
Eukaryotic DNA unzips at multiple regions at once
- It begins with primer it gets the DNA ready. Primase puts the primer.
- DNA is replicated in 5 to 3 more important.
- The leading strand has one The lagging strand side puts multiple primers on.
- Helocase unwinds dna polymerase makes the DNA ligand links the DNA together
- This is fast reaction
- Telomeres are the ends of the DNA that have repeating sequences that don't do anything.
- Lose a part of the DNA every time until you die.
- A cell can only divide 20-30 times before it dies
- Telomerase contains a RNA sequence

3
- Gametes don't lose telomerse, bone marrow don't lose it, stem cells don't lose anything.
- DNA can make mistakes in replication.
1. Proofreading- checking to make sure the mistakes
2. Mismatch repair- other proteins will check if the DNA is correct
- PCR takes a little bit of the double stranded DNA and put primers and put dNTPs and
polymerase
- And then the DNA replicates.
- Mutations, when the DNA messes up and are not corrected and are past on.
- Somatic is non germ cells- does not pass pass on to kids
- Germ line mutation- ones that are passed on to kids
- Not all of the DNA is expressed
- There are certain coding DNA
- It is like a play, with some stage directions
- Once they copy the stuff for proteins they don't copy the codes for how to make the proteins
- Silent mutation do not affect protein function
- Loss of function mutations affect protein function
- Gain of function- cancer
- Conditional mutations- Siamese cats
- Point mutations affect a single point
- There can be chromosomal mutations
- They can be caused by mutagens environmental things that affect DNA or wrong replication
- Deletions: loss of a section
- Inversions when the trait is there but in the wrong place
- Transversion are not the right pairs
- Duplication
- Spontaneous
- Induced- environmental factions
- Spontaneous mutations- most errors are fixed
- Induced mutations- mutagens
- Chemical could alter the base and radiation damage
- Common mutations are
- Most mutations have no effect but some are harmful or beneficial
- Ground level Ozone is bad
- Missense and nonsense

4
- Nonsense if it a chain has a stop codon in the middle. With a base in the middle
- Missense CAC becomes CAA histine for glutamine