Chapter 13: DNA Structure and Replication

Genes Are Made of DNA

1. Heritable information is carried in units called genes

2. Genes are parts of structures called chromosomes

3. Chromosomes are made of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and protein

DNA

• DNA is made of chains of small subunits called nucleotides

DNA

• Each nucleotide has three components:1. Phosphate group2. Deoxyribose sugar3. One of four nitrogen-containing bases

– Thymine– Cytosine– Adenine– Guanine

Chargaff’s Rule

• In 1940, biochemist E. Chargaff determined that:

– In a DNA molecule, amounts ofA = T, G = C

– “Chargaff’s Rule”

Early DNA Studies• Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins studied DNA

structure using X-ray scattering

• From X-ray diffraction patterns they deduced that DNA – Is long and thin– Has a uniform diameter of 2 nanometers – Is helical, and is twisted like a corkscrew– Consists of repeating subunits

DNA Is a Double Helix• James Watson and

Francis Crick :

– DNA is made of two strands of nucleotides

– Deoxyribose and phosphate portions make up the sugar-phosphate backbone

Bases Form Ladder Rungs in DNA

• Nitrogen-containing bases protrude inward from sugar-phosphate backbone

ghr.nlm.nih.gov

Hydrogen Bonds

• Hydrogen bonds hold certain nitrogenous base pairs together

– A bonds with T, G bonds with C

– Bonding bases called complementary base pairs

DNA is a Double Helix

• Ladder-like structure of the two DNA strands are twisted into a double helix

• How can a molecule with only 4 simple parts be the carrier of

genetic information?

DNA Replication

• All cells come from pre-existing cells

• Cells reproduce by dividing in half

• Each of two daughter cells gets an exact copy of parent cell’s genetic information

• Duplication of the parent cell DNA is called replication

DNA Replication

• DNA helicases

• DNA polymerases

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

DNA Replication

• Base pairing is the foundation of DNA replication

Semiconservative Replication

• The two resulting DNA molecules have one old parental strand and one new strand (semiconservative replication)

Replication And Proofreading

Types of Mutations

• Point mutation - individual nucleotide in the DNA sequence is changed

• Insertion mutation - one or more nucleotide pairs are inserted into the DNA double helix

• Deletion mutation - one or more nucleotide pairs are removed from the double helix

• Inversion - piece of DNA is cut out of a chromosome, turned around, and re-inserted into the gap

• Translocation - chunk of DNA (often very large) is removed from one chromosome and attached to another

The End