Chapter 5: Chemical Basis of Heredity Flashcards
Four major characteristics that a molecule should possess to be a genetic material
-Replication
-Storage of information
-Expression of information
-Variation by mutation
a fundamental property of all living organisms
Replication-
to act as a repository of genetic information that may or may not be
expressed by the cell in which it resides.
Storage of information
charac:
the basis of the process of information flow within the cell
Expression of information
what happens during transcription of DNA
which three main types of RNA molecules
are synthesized: messenger RNA (mRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and transfer RNA
(tRNA)
what happens to mRNA during DNa translation
translation, the chemical information in mRNA directs the construction of a chain of
amino acids, called a polypeptide, which then folds into a protein
if a change in the chemical composition of DNA—occurs, the alteration may be
reflected
during transcription and translation, affecting the specific protein
initiated by the work of
Frederick Griffith (1972)
Oswald Avery,
Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty’s (1944
initial event that led to the acceptance of DNA as the genetic material.
publication on the chemical nature of a “transforming principle” i
he experimented with several different strains of the bacterium Diplococcus
pneumoniae
Frederick Griffith
kind of strains experiemneted by griffith
Some were virulent strains, which cause pneumonia in certain vertebrates (notably
humans and mice), while
avirulent strains, which do not cause illness.
what bacteria form smooth colonies (S) with a shiny surface when grown on an
agar culture plate
Encapsulated bacteria
Its DNA frequently appears as a distinct clump, called the nucleoid, which is confined to a definite region of the cytoplasm.
Bacterial Chromosomes
- fundamental repeating units of chromatin, which are composed of 200 base
pairs of DNA, an octamer of four types of histones, plus one linker histone.
NUCLEOSOMES
The two basic types of chromatin are
which undergoes the normal process of condensation and decondensation
in the cell cycle
euchromatin
The two basic types of chromatin are
which remains in a highly condensed state throughout the cell cycle,
even during interphase
Heterochromatin-
5 abundant types of chromatin
: H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4
An essential function of the genetic material and must be executed precisely for genetic
continuity between cells to be maintained following cell division
replication or synthesis of DNA
is the mode used by bacterial
cells to produce new DNA molecules
semi conservative replication
who published the results of an experiment
providing strong evidence that semi conservative replication is the mode used by bacterial cells to produce new DNA molecules
In 1958, Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl
the only nitrogen source.
15NH4Cl (ammonium
chloride
what technique referred in the experimental procedure in meselson and stahl
sedimentation
equilibrium centrifugation (also called buoyant density gradient centrifugation)
3 Requirements of Replication
- A template consisting of single-stranded DNA
- Raw materials (substrates) to be assembled into a new nucleotide strand
- Enzymes and other proteins that “read” the template and assemble the substrates into a
DNA molecule
a common type of replication that takes place in circular DNA, such as that
found in E. coli and other bacteria
Theta replication
the loop generated from the unwinding of the double helix
Replication bubble-
the point of unwinding, where the two single strands separate from the
double-stranded DNA helixthe point of unwinding, where the two single strands separate from the
double-stranded DNA helix
Replication fork-
If there are two replication forks, one at each end of the replication bubble, the forks proceed
outward in both directions in a process called
bidirectional replication
If there are two replication forks, one at each end of the replication bubble, the forks proceed
outward in both directions in a process called bidirectional replication, simultaneously
unwinding and replicating the DNA until they eventually meet.
* If a single replication fork is present, it proceeds around the entire circle to produce two
complete circular DNA molecules, each consisting of one old and one new nucleotide strand.
bind to oriC and cause a short section of DNA
to unwind. This unwinding allows helicase and other single-strand-binding proteins to
attach to the polynucleotide strand.
Initiator proteins (known as DnaA in E. coli)
breaks the hydrogen bonds that exist between the bases of the two
nucleotide strands of a DNA molecule. Helicase cannot initiate the unwinding of double
dna helicase
After DNA has been unwound by helicase, what is attached
single-strand-binding proteins (SSBs) attach
tightly to the exposed single-stranded DNA. These proteins protect the single- stranded nucleotide chains and prevent the formation of secondary structures that interfere with
replication.
a topoisomerase which control the supercoiling of DNA. It reduces the
torsional strain (torque) that builds up ahead of the replication fork as a result of
unwinding by making a double-strand break in one segment of the DNA helix, passing
another segment of the helix through the break, and then resealing the broken ends of
the DNA. This action removes a twist in the DNA and reduces the supercoiling
DNA gyrase
Two major types of topoisomerase:
a. type I- alter supercoiling by making single-strand breaks in DNA
b. type II- create double-strand breaks in DNA
an enzyme that synthesizes short stretches of RNA nucleotides, or primers
Primase