dna structure and replication Flashcards
it is the different building blocks combine in sequences which enables to carry information
nucleic acids
what are the 2 classes of nucleic acids
DNA and RNA
it is the single building block of DNA
nucleotide
nucleotide consist of
1 deoxyribose sugar (5 carbon sugar)
1 phosphate group (phosphorus atom bonded to 4 oxygen atoms)
1 nitrogenous base
- purines: adenine and guanine
- pyrimidines: cytosine and thymine
it forms the “rails” of the DNA helix, providing structure
sugar-phosphate backbone
purines vs pyrimidine
purines: 2 ring structure
pyrimidine: 1 ring structure
their pairing (1 big and 1 small) ensures that the DNA helix maintains a consistent width throughout
phosphodiester bond vs hydrogen bond
phosphodiester bond:
Link the sugar of one nucleotide to the phosphate group of the next in the DNA backbone.
hydrogen bond:
Hold the complementary nitrogenous bases (A-T, G-C) together between the two DNA strands.
why must dna be replicated
To ensure that genetic information is passed to daughter cells during cell division, maintaining the continuity of genetic information across generations.
dna sequences are measured in
measured in numbers of base pairs
- kilobase (kb): thousands
- mega base (mb): millions
it is the information-containing parts of DNA because they form sequences
nitrogenous bases
it is a chain that forms when nucleotides link together that held together phosphodiester bons
polynucleotide chains
what are phosphodiester bonds
they are formed between deoxyribose sugars and the phosphate groups
it is a continuous link that are formed between deoxyribose sugars and the phosphate groups
sugar-phosphate backbone
it is when in a DNA molecule, the two polynucleotide chains run in opposite directions
antiparallelism
briefly explain antiparallelism
One chain runs from the 5′ end (5 prime) to the 3′ end (3 prime)
while the other runs from the 3′ end to the 5′ end
= head-to-toe alignment.
5’ -
3’ -
*structure of sugar-phosphate backbone structure
5’ - have phosphate group attached to 5th C
3’ - end w hydroxyl grp attached to 3rd C
explain how the sugar-phosphate backbone is formed
These carbons are numbered from 1 to 5, starting from the carbon next to the nitrogenous base and moving
clockwise
nucleotides and pairing
adenine pairs w thymine
guanine pairs w cytosine
A & T - 2 hydrogen bonds
G & C - 3 hydrogen bonds
true or false:
a single strand of DNA will form a helix
flase - will not
purine-pyrimidine couples are called
complementary base pairs
why is the hydrogen bonds are weak individually but strong collectively
the bonds are between base pairs
that maintains the stability of the DNA structure
they are strong collectively butt weak enough to allow the strands to separate when needed
this is formed when the DNA strands twist and when they are antiparallel
double helix structure
true or false:
DNA molecules are extremely long
true
how long is the the DNA of the smallest human chromosome, if stretched out
14 millimeters (thousandths of meter)
*but it is packed into a chromosomes that during cell division, its only 2 micrometers (millionths of a meter)
how is the DNA in chromosomes is highly compacted
by shrinking its length by a factor of 7000 to fit inside the cell nucleus
what are the role of proteins in DNA folding
○ Scaffold Proteins
Provide a framework for organizing DNA strands
○ Histones
DNA wraps around these proteins to form structures called nucleosomes.
Each nucleosome consists of 8 histone proteins and 147 DNA base pairs.
each nucleosome consists of
8 histone proteins
147 DNA bases
aka “DNA bead”
what is the structure of the nucleosomes
the 5th histones anchors nucleosomes to short linker regions of DNA, which tightens the nucleosomes into 30 nm fibers.
true or false:
at any given time, only small sections of the DNA double helix are exposed.
true
*most of the DNA is wrapped up
what do the chromatin consists of
aka “colored material”
■ 30% histone proteins
■ 30% scaffold protein and other other DNA-binding proteins
■ 30% DNA
■ 10% RNA
what happens when a chromatin is loose
(not condensed into chromosomes)
it forms loops at abt 10000 places in the genome
it bring together parts of the DNA sequence within the same long molecule to form the overall “loop-ome” structure
CTCF
CCCTC-binding
briefly explain the sites of chromatin attachment to the nuclear membrane
they are not random and the
placement may control which genes a cell is using to make proteins
closed chromatin vs open chromatin
closed chromatin:
heterochromatin
more densely packed
open chromatin:
euchromatin
less compact structure
this help form and maintain the chromatin loops
CTCF anchor protein
loop domain
- large loops of DNA formed by chromatin
it is a genetically rare disease that resembles rapid aging in children
progeria