Exam 2 Lectures 9-16 Flashcards
What are two types of prokaryotes?
Bacteria and archaea
How are prokaryotic genomes different from eukaryotic?
- no chromosomes
- circular or linear
- much smaller (less than 1 mb-5 mb)
- haploid - one copy of each gene
What is the base DNA molecule that prokaryotes have?
Circular DNA molecules which may be called chromosomes- not actually similar to eukaryotic chromosomes
Where is prokaryotic DNA located?
The nucleoid
Describe the structure of prokaryotic DNA.
Circular, double stranded DNA can be coiled around itself in a supercoil
What proteins are associated with prokaryotic DNA?
HU protein and H-NS (histone-like nucleoid structure protein)
What are 3 components of prokaryotic genomes?
“Chromosomes,” chromid, plasmid
What is a prokaryotic chromosome?
Located in the nucleoid, carries essential genes
What is a chromid?
Used plasmid partitioning system, carries essential genes
What is a plasmid?
Uses plasmid partitioning system, carries non-essential genes
What are three ways a bacterial cell can transfer/exchange DNA?
Transformation, conjugation, and transduction
What is transformation?
Transfer of DNA between donor and recipient bacteria
What is conjugation?
- A donor cell physically attaches to a recipient cell,
- useful for genetic mapping, sequential transfer of markers, time at which gene arrives indicates order of genes
What is transduction?
- bacteriophage transfers genetic information
- Co-transfer of closely linked markers during trans, frequency with which AB transfers together depends on how close together they are the chromosome
Describe genome organization in E. Coli?
- Very little intergenic space, very few introns
- outside transcribed clockwise, inside transcribed counterclockwise
What is a group of genes in prokaryotic genomes called?
Operon - group of genes involved in a single biochemical process
What is the term to describe the lac operon?
It is an inducible operon, because it is usually off (repressed) but can be turned on in the presence of an induced protein
Describe how the lac operon works?
- Bacterial cell is not always in the presence of lactose , does not always want to be synthesizing these enzymes that breakdown lactose
- LacI encodes for a repressor, in the absense of lactose the repressor is bound to the operator which prevents transcription of the lac genes
What is an example of a repressible operon?
Trp operon
Describe how the trp operon works.
- Trp binds to the operator and represses gene transcription once it is synthesized
- Negative feedback loop
How do bacterial genome sizes vary?
- genomes vary due to varying lifestyles
- free living bacteria code for more genes than parasitic bacteria
What does it mean that prokaryotes have a pan-genome?
- Core genome - set of genes possessed by all members of a species
- Accessory genome - entire collection of additional genes present in strains and isolates of that species
Do the # of genes vary in Eukaryotes?
In Eukaryotes the # of genes remains relatively similar while it varies more in prokaryotes
How are evolutionary relationships defined?
1) Evolutionary relationships inferred from complete genome sequences
2) Evolutionary relationships inferred from gene x sequences
What are species?
Individuals that can interbreed
What is vertical genetic transmission?
Transmission of genes from parent to offspring
What other type of genetic transmission do prokaryotes possess?
Lateral genetic transmission- transfer of genes between different individuals/species
How does lateral genetic transformation in bacteria impact characterization?
Makes it hard to define species in bacteria
Describe mitochondrial genomes.
- 5-1500 kb
- 3-93
- energy production, transcription, translation
Describe the chloroplast genome.
- 60-525 kb
- 200 genes
- majority of genes are involved in the process of photosynthesis
What defines the lifestyle of viruses?
Obligate parasites
What do viruses consist of?
- Nucleic acid + protein structure
- can carry their own polymerase for transcription but will need the hosts translation machinery to make protein
- specific to their host
What are bacteriophages?
Viruses that infect bacteria
What are 3 structures of viruses?
Icosahedral, filamentous, head&tail
Describe virus structure assembly.
- Proteins assemble into polypeptide subunits called protomers which then assemble into a protein coat called a capsid
- Role of the protein is to encapsulate the nucleic acid
What can virus genomes be made of?
RNA or DNA (double or single stranded)
Describe the structure of viral genomes.
Viruses have very compact genomes, may have overlapping genes with different reading frames
What are two infection cycles of bacteriophages?
Lytic and lysogenic
Describe the lytic infection cycle.
- Bacteriophage (T4 that infects E. coli) attaches to receptor protein on target cell
- phage DNA is injected into the cell
- Transcription of phage DNA begins
- Replication of phage DNA
- Capsid protein synthesis
- Host cell bursts, new phages released
Describe the lysogenic cycle.
- used by lambda bacteriophage
- recombination of viral DNA in E. coli cell
- Excision & synthesis of new phages
- Many cell divisions
- Induction of prophage
- Phage gene expression, DNA replication, capsid synthesis
- New lambda phages released
Describe Eukaryotic viruses.
- Can be either icosahedral or filamentous, but not head and tail
- capsid can be surrounded by lipid membrane
- can have a lytic or lysogenic life cycle -> usually less dramatic infection
What is a retrovirus?
- a virus that integrates its genome into the host genome
- RNA viruses that use the enzyme reverse transcriptase
- discovered by Howard Temin & David Baltimore
Describe the genome of retroviruses.
- (7-12 kB)
- LTR = long terminal repeats
- Gag = structural glycoprotein
- Pol = reverse transcriptase
- Env = viral coat
- Then LTR again on the other side
(This retroviral genome must be integrated into the host genome)
What is HIV?
- A virus that binds to CD4 receptors on the T-cell membrane
Describe the corona virus genome.
- sars-cov2 - family of coronaviruses 26-32 kb
- 4 major structural proteins: spike, membrane, envelope, nucleoproteins
- spike protein binds to human ACE2 receptor in the lungs, kidneys, liver
- single stranded RNA virus 29.9kb in size, 13-15 ORFs -> 12 expressed proteins
What are 2 types of mobile genetic elements?
Retrotransposons and transposons
What are two types of retrotransposons?
Retrotransposons that have LTRs ones that don’t
Describe the pathway of retrotransposons that have LTRs.
- Retrotransposon in gene
- Transcribed to single stranded RNA
- Reverse transcribed into DS DNA
- Re-integrated into host genome
- Example: Retroviruses that infected their host , but then became inactivated and leave behind their mobile genetic information
Describe the pathway of retrotransposons that don’t have LTRs.
- have non-LTR elements aka retrotransposons
- LINEs and SINEs
- Alu is an example of a SINE, 120 bp, 1.2 million copies in the human genome, 10% of the human genome
What is the substrate of evolutionary change?
Mutation
What are the two different levels of mutation?
A gene/point mutation or a chromosome mutation
What is a gene mutation?
- a point mutation
- an allele or gene changed to a different allele
What is a chromosome mutation?
Segments, whole chromosomes or sets of chromosomes change
What is a reference point?
- wild type allele - allele that is most commonly present in a population (in nature or lab stock)
What are two types of alleles?
Mutant allele and wild type allele
What are three mutations at the DNA level?
Transitions, transversions, and additions/deletions
What is a transition mutation?
- purine replace by purine (AG)
- OR pyrimidine is replaced by pyrimidine (CT)
What is a transversion mutation?
- purine replaced with a pyrimidine
- OR pyrimidine replaced with a purine
What are 3 impacts of gene mutations on proteins?
- Silent Mutation - changes one codon for an amino acid into another codon for the same amino acid
- Missense Mutation - changes one codon for an amino acid to one that encodes for a different amino acid
- Nonsense Mutation - changes one codon for a stop codon - creates a truncated protein
What are 6 possible mutant types?
morphological mutants, lethal mutations, conditional mutants, biochemical mutations, loss of function, gain of function
What is a morphological mutant?
mutations that affect outwardly visible properties of an organism
What is a lethal mutation?
in a gene that encodes for a protein involved in an essential process
What is a conditional mutation?
- mutation only causes a mutant phenotype in a certain environment
- temperature sensitivity common
What is a biochemical mutation? What are examples?
- mutation that prevents the organism from carrying out a biochemical function
- prototroph - can exist on inorganic salts and energy source
- auxotroph - must be supplied with nutrients to growth
What is a loss of function mutation?
- gene no longer makes a functional protein, usually recessive
What is a gain of function mutation?
- mutation confers a new function to the protein, usually dominant
How does the location of a mutation impact the effect on the organism?
- Somatic cells - if mutation is early in development there is a large effect
- Sex cells - always large effect
What are two ways that mutations can arise?
DNA replication and mutagens
What is a tautomer shift?
- DNA replication mutation
- When a base changes from Keto to enol form
- Enol T binds with G
- Enol A binds with C
- ENol G binds with T
What mutations can DNA replication create?
- insertions/deletions
- these create frameshift mutations
- 3 nucleotide deletion/insertion is less harmful
What is replication slippage?
a type of DNA replication mutation that occurs in segments of DNA with alot of short tandem repeats (microsattelites)
-adds a tandem repeat to a daughter molecule - creates microsattelites of different lengths
What disease can be produced as a result of replication slippage?
Nucleotide repeat expansion diseases- result of replication slippage
- expansion of repeats causes a mutated protein which leads to huntingtons disease
What is the DNA replication mutation rate in E. coli?
1 / 10^7 bp
What is a mutagen?
a chemical or physical agent that causes mutations
What are other environmental agents (other than mutagens)?
- Carcinogen - causes cancer
- Clastogen - causes fragmentation of chromosomes
- Oncogen - induces tumor formation
- Teratogen - results in developmental abnormalities
Mutagens can be:
- base analogs that can be added directly to DNA during replication
- can react with DNA and cause structural damage
- can cause the cell to synthesize chemicals that have a mutagenic effect
What is 5-bromouracil?
- base analog for thymine, this molecule can be added instead of thymine and this molecule shifts between keto and enol form more easily
What are deaminating agents? What are examples?
- remove amine group - ex: nitrous acid
- hypoanthine is a deaminating agent that cuases adenine to pair with cytosine
What is ethidium bromide?
- a mutagen that intercolates/integrates between the bases of DNA
How does UV light function as a mutagen?
- UV light - induces dimerization of two adjacent pyrimidines - leads to deletions in the DNA sequence during replication
What are alkylating agents? Example?
- add methly or ethyl
- EMS (ethylmethane sulfonate) adds an ethyl group to guanine
- G pairs with T instead of C, GC ->AT transition mutation
What is direct repair?
- a nick in the DNA may be repaired with DNA ligase
- the Ada enzyme removes methyl groups from bases
What are the steps in base excision repair?
1) DNA glycosylase removes the damaged nitrogenous base. Creates AP site (baseless site)
2) AP Endonuclease removes the reibose sugar
3) DNA polymerase adds the correct nucleotide
4) DNA ligase creates phosphodiester bonds
What does nucleotide excision repair act on?
a segment of damaged DNA
What are the steps of nucleotide excision repair?
1) HElicase enzymes unwind the DNA helix
2) Endonucleases create single stranded cuts 24-32 nucelotides
3) DNA polmerase and DNA ligase fill in the excised gap
How does mismatch repair work?
- It is best understood in E. Coli
- After parental molecule is replicated there is a little window of time before it gets methylated - (normal state for E. Coli to be methylated)
1) MutH binds the unmethylated sequence in the daughter strand
2) MutS recognizes the mismatch
3) MutH cuts the phosphodiester bond adn DNA helicase 2 removes the strand with an exonuclease
4) DNA polmerase and DNA ligase fill in the missing sequence
What occurs when mutagens cause double stranded DNA breaks?
Non-homolgous end joining
- this process involves the binding of Ku proteins to the ends of DNA break, then DNA-Pkcs, XRCC4, and DNA ligase IV produce repaired DNA by joining the fragmented DNA
What is homologous recombination?
- breakage and reunion of polynucleotides that share extensive sequence homology
- this process is what is occuring duirng crossing over, but is also used for DNA repair