LEC 1

Question 1

Discovered DNA

Answer 1

Johann Friedrich Miescher

Question 2

He extracted a viscous substance, which he initially called “nuclein”, from isolated white blood cells in seepage collected from discarded surgical bandages.

Answer 2

Johann Friedrich Miescher

Question 3

Chemical analysis of the extracted nuclein showed that the substance was 2.5% phosphorous and 14% nitrogen, making the substance different from any then known group of biomolecules.

Answer 3

Johann Friedrich Miescher

Question 4

Implicated that DNA is responsible for bacterial transformation

Answer 4

Oswald Avery, Colin MacLead, and Maclyn McCarty (1944)

Question 5

Implicated that DNA is responsible for bacterial transformation

Answer 5

Oswald Avery, Colin MacLead, and Maclyn McCarty (1944)

Question 6

In an experiment, they showed that non-encapsulated (non-pathogenic) strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae are transformed to become encapsulated (pathogenic) upon the addition of DNA from the encapsulated strain.

Answer 6

Oswald Avery, Colin MacLead, and Maclyn McCarty (1944)

Question 7

Helped confirmed that DNA is the genetic material by performing a series of experiments that showed that viral nucleic acids are infectious while viral protein is not.

Answer 7

Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase (1952)

Question 8

Performed chromatographic methods

Answer 8

4. Erwin Chargaff (1949-1953)

Question 9

Concluded that adenine (A) content of DNA is equal to the thymine (T) content while guanine (G) content is equal to its cytosine (C) content.

Answer 9

4. Erwin Chargaff (1949-1953)

Question 10

In the late 1940s, he started using optical spectroscopy to study DNA

Answer 10

Maurice Wilkins

Question 11

Together with Rosalind Franklin, obtained the A and B conformation of DNA

Answer 11

Maurice Wilkins

Question 12

Maurice Wilkins with —, obtained the A and B conformation of DNA

Answer 12

Rosalind Franklin

Question 13

Published in Nature (April 1953) the first correct model of the DNA molecule

Answer 13

James Watson and Francis Crick

Question 14

Utilized Rosalind Franklin’s “Photo 51” and other data to postulate a threedimensional model of the DNA structure

Answer 14

James Watson and Francis Crick

Question 15

They performed the first known successful DNA recombinant experiment which allowed them to produce human insulin from genetically modified bacteria

Answer 15

Herbert Boyer and Stanley Norman Cohen (1973)

Question 16

Separately developed techniques for rapid DNA sequencing that made it possible to ‘read’ nucleotide sequence of entire genes

Answer 16

Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger (1970’s)

Question 17

Invented the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique for amplification of DNA

Answer 17

Kary Mullis (1985)

Question 18

Presented the Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs), which are engineered DNA-binding enzymes that allows targeted editing of the genome

Answer 18

Nikola Panayot Pavletich and Carl Pabo (1991)

Question 19

British developmental biologist who was the first to generate a mammalian clone, Dolly the sheep, by using nuclear transfer of differentiated adult cells

Answer 19

Sir Ian Wilmut (1997)

Question 20

It is the branch of biology that studies the structure, composition, and interactions of cellular biomolecules that carry out the essential processes for the cell’s functions and maintenance

Answer 20

Molecular Biology

Question 21

Molecular biology as the study of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

Answer 21

James Watson

Question 22

Deals with molecular techniques that are designed for handling and analysis of nucleic acids (Buckingham, 2019).

Answer 22

Diagnostic Molecular Biology

Question 23

Integration of the knowledge and technology in molecular biology with clinical laboratory techniques. It is rooted in the understanding of genome structure and cellular activities at the molecular level

Answer 23

Diagnostic Molecular Biology

Question 24

Refers to the analysis of nucleic acids and proteins for diagnosis of disease, predicting the occurrence of a disease, predicting the prognosis of the diagnosed disease, and guiding therapy.

Answer 24

Molecular pathology

Question 25

Most common applications of diagnostic molecular pathology

Answer 25

Redefinition of diseases
Detection of cancer
Detection of infectious diseases
Treatment of diseases
Pharmacogenomics and Personalized medicine
Diagnosis of genetic diseases

Question 26

Identifying the gene expression pattern that makes a disease unique allows the clinicians to differentiate related diseases that may be difficult to distinguish from each other

Answer 26

Redefinition of diseases

Question 27

An example is the differential diagnosis of leukemias which are relatively difficult to distinguish from each other based on morphology and laboratory data alone.

Answer 27

Redefinition of diseases

Question 28

Molecular biology enabled clinicians and researchers to identify genes that have the potential of causing cancer, also called oncogenes, and their encoded proteins, also known as oncoproteins.

Answer 28

Detection of cancer

Question 29

An individual with an oncogene has a higher chance of developing cancer to which the gene is associated with compared to an individual who does not have the oncogene.

Answer 29

Detection of cancer

Question 30

Molecular techniques have enabled the detection of pathogens that could not be easily detected using conventional microbiology assays.

Answer 30

Detection of infectious diseases

Question 31

Nucleic acid amplification tests, such as PCR, detects the presence of nucleic acids from pathogens that are extremely hard to grow via culture. Hence, molecular diagnostics have exponentially improved the detection of viruses, fungi, and fastidious bacteria in clinical specimens.

Answer 31

Detection of infectious diseases

Question 32

Genetic screening for the presence of proteins involved in drug metabolism has enabled the design of effective treatment of patients.

Answer 32

Treatment of diseases

Question 33

Example: Many breast cancer patients express the neu/HER2 growth factor receptor which can be detected in serum by molecular techniques or immunoassays. Herceptin, an antibody to the said receptor, can be used to destroy neu/HER2-positive breast cancers effectively.

Answer 33

Treatment of diseases

Question 34

Pharmacogenomics studies how drug responses occur concerning an individual’s genome. It takes into account the uniqueness of an individual’s genome concerning drug pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and, therefore, responses to the drug.

Answer 34

Pharmacogenomics and Personalized medicine

Question 35

Ushers an era of personalized medicine, which downplays the “one drug fits all” convention and holds the promise of providing greater safety and efficacy in drug design and development.

Answer 35

Pharmacogenomics and Personalized medicine

Question 36

For decades now, diagnostic molecular techniques have been of great assistance for predicting the manifestation of genetic diseases by detection of genetic markers among family members.

Answer 36

Diagnosis of genetic diseases