Lecture 8: DNA replication in humans rewatch lecture Flashcards
Monday 14th October
What does the fact that bacterial DNA is usually a lot larger in size than the actual bacteria tell us?
That bacterial DNA is very compacted
What ways is DNA compacted?
- By looping, with loops being attached at the base in an unknown way.
- By supercoiling
Is our DNA packed more tightly than E coli’s?
Yes
Did Watson and Crick test their double helix DNA model?
No, they left it to other people to test
What is the length of an E coli cell?
1 - 2 micrometres
How long is the DNA inside E-coli?
1.6 mm
How big is our haploid genome?
3.2 Gbp
How much DNA does a typical somatic cell have?
6.4 Gbp of DNA
What is the spacing between base pairs?
0.34 nm
What is the total lenght of DNA in our typical somatic cells?
6.4 x 109 x 0.34 x 10-9 m
~ 2.2 m
Is our DNA packed more tightly than E coli’s?
Yes
How is eukaryotic DNA organised?
- A DNA duplex is wrapped around proteins called nucleosomes
- This is coiled into much smaller fibres
Is the error rate for DNA replication high or low?
Low
What is the error rate for DNA replication?
~1 in 109 base pairs in most organisms
How many mutations do we generate at each cell division?
About 6 mutations
What did Watson and Crick say on April 25, 1953?
- It has not escaped our notice that the specific (base) pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.”
- Can copy DNA by making a complemetary copy to each of the strands
Are the daughter strands in DNA replication identical?
Yes
What were the 2 predictions by Watson and Crick in regards to DNA replication?
1) DNA strands are held together by ‘Watson-Crick’ base- pairing, consistent with Chargaff’s rules. To make this work, the strands must be anti-parallel.
2) Each strand is therefore complementary to the other, so each can act as a template for DNA replication. DNA replication should therefore be semi-conservative
Describe semi-conservative replication
Each daughter DNA molecule contains one parental strand and one newly-replicated strand.
WATSON-CRICK model