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Year 2 Biology Ellie M > Molecular Genetics 1-6 > Flashcards

Molecular Genetics 1-6 Flashcards

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1
Q

What and when was the Hershey-Chase experiment?

A

1952
Involved the use of a phage (virus) which affects E. coli. The phage could replicate once inside E. coli cells. In one experiment they labelled the protein with radioactive sulphur, and in the other they labelled the DNA with radioactive phosphorus. Then they allowed the phage to infect E. coli and centrifuged the E. coli cells. When the protein was labelled, radioactivity was only found in the liquid, not pellet. Radioactivity was found in both when DNA was labelled

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2
Q

When did Watson and Crick propose the structure of DNA?

A

1953

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3
Q

Who helped Watson and Crick come to their conclusions on DNA structure?

A

Rosalind Franklin and PhD student Raymond Gosling

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4
Q

How are the carbons labelled in a DNA molecule?

A

5’ carbon at phosphate end

3’ carbon has hydroxide group

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5
Q

Which nucleotide bases are purines?

A

Adenine and guanine

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6
Q

Which nucleotide bases are pyrimidines?

A

Cytosine and thymine

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7
Q

What is a gene?

A

The basic unit of inheritance by which hereditary characteristics are transmitted from parent to offspring

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8
Q

What is a gene at the molecular level?

A

A length of DNA (or in some viruses RNA) which exerts its influence on the organism’s form and function by encoding and directing the synthesis of a protein, or a tRNA, rRNA or other structural protein.
In eukaryotes, a gene also includes noncoding introns

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9
Q

What is the name for the type of mRNA produced in prokaryotic transcription and what does it mean?

A

Polycistronic

A single strand of mRNA that encodes several proteins

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10
Q

What is the purpose of the 5’ cap of mRNA?

A

The cap plays a role in the ribosomal recognition of messenger RNA during translation into a protein

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11
Q

What enzyme places a 5’ cap on the end of the mRNA molecule?

A

Gaunyl transferase

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12
Q

What is the poly A tail at the 3’ end of the mRNA molecule?

A

It is a string of adenine bases. It’s addition is catalysed by the enzyme poly (A) polymerase

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13
Q

Where is DNA found? (4 places)

A

Nucleus
Cytoplasm
Plastid
eDNA (environmental DNA)

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14
Q

In what direction is mRNA transcribed?

A

In a 5’ to 3’ direction along the coding strand, against the direction of the template strand

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15
Q

What is eDNA?

A

Found in soils, water, faeces, etc
Useful for ecological surveying - what species are in the area
DNA in our food can test if packaging is honest about contents

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16
Q

How is prokaryotic DNA packaged?

A
  1. Arranged into nucleoids
  2. Supercoiled with the help of architectural proteins
  3. Usually circular DNA genome with nonessential genes in plasmids
  4. Eukaryotic organelles resemble prokaryotes in their genomic organisation
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17
Q

How is eukaryotic DNA packaged?

A
  1. Packaged into linear chromosomes
  2. Chromatin - DNA supercoiled using histones
  3. Nucleus is membrane-bound
  4. Some eukaryotic genomes organised into operons
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18
Q

How are chloroplasts inherited?

A

Through the cytoplasm - maternally inherited

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19
Q

Steps of plasmid inheritance

A
  1. F plasmid carries genes necessary for conjugation
  2. Plasmid may have additional genetic information from chromosome
  3. One strand of F+ cell plasmid DNA breaks at arrowhead
  4. Broken strand peels off and enters F- cell
  5. Donor and recipient cells synthesise complementary DNA strands
  6. Recipient cell now also has copy of F plasmid
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20
Q

Prokaryotic DNA replication

A
  1. The origin of replication (ORI) is where replication begins
  2. Replication forks in both directions form, leaving two daughter molecules
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21
Q

Eukaryotic DNA replication

A
  1. Multiple ORIs, multiple replication forks and bubbles

2. Two daughter DNA molecules formed

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22
Q

Role of topoisomerase in DNA replication

A

Breaks, swivels and rejoins the parental DNA, ahead of the replication fork, relieving the strain caused by unwinding

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23
Q

What is the role of helicase in DNA replication?

A

Unwinds and separates the parental DNA strands

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24
Q

What is the role of primase in DNA replication?

A

Synthesises RNA primers, using the parental DNA as a template

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25
Q

What is the role of DNA polymerase I in DNA replication?

A

Removes the RNA primer and synthesises DNA fragments in its place

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26
Q

What is the role of DNA polymerase III in DNA replication?

A

Synthesises new DNA strand in 5’ to 3’ direction

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27
Q

What is the role of single-strand binding proteins in DNA replication?

A

Stabilise the unwound parental strands

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28
Q

Which DNA strand is easy to replicate?

A

The leading strand, as this strand is being replicated in the 5’ to 3’ direction

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29
Q

Which strand is harder to replicate and why?

A

The lagging strand is harder to replicate as it runs in 3’ to 5’ direction. Primase must produce many RNA primers and hop along placing primers periodically along the DNA

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30
Q

What are the four main steps of DNA extraction?

A
  1. Cell lysis and protein removal
  2. Precipitation
  3. Wash
  4. Resuspension (or ELUTION)
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31
Q

Cell lysis - why do you need it?

A

Lysis of the cell membrane is required to release the DNA

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32
Q

What is in a cell lysis buffer?

A
  1. Detergent (e.g. SDS, an an ionic surfactant) - to help break up fats and open up cells
  2. Salt (e.g. NaCl) - to help break down hydrogen bonds between DNA strands, enabling it to dissolve in the solvent
  3. EDTA - chelation of divalent ions, which prevents DNases from working
  4. Tris - acts as a buffer to stabilise alkaline pH
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33
Q

Why would you want to remove proteins during DNA extraction?

A

DNA is packaged in proteins, so this must be removed. You may also want to remove any contaminating cellular proteins

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34
Q

What happens to proteins when exposed to the lysis buffer?

A

They are denatured and dissolved by the lysis buffer

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35
Q

What other chemicals assist in protein removal?

A
  1. Proteinase (e.g. proteinase K)
  2. Chaotropic salts (e.g. guanidine hydrochloride) - weaken the forces holding the protein together, thus leading to denaturation
  3. Ammonium acetate - this will cause proteins to precipitate, so you can centrifuge the solution and remove unwanted proteins which will form pellet
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36
Q

What is precipitation in DNA extraction?

A

Separating the DNA from the proteins by DNA precipitation

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37
Q

What is added to precipitate the DNA and how is it physically separated?

A

Isopropanol or ethanol - DNA is insoluble in both of these chemicals, so it leads to the aggregation of DNA molecules out of solution. DNA can then be separated by centrifugation or with a silica matrix in a column

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38
Q

Why must the DNA pellet or matrix be washed?

A

To remove contaminants

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39
Q

How is the pellet washed?

A

With 70% ethanol - the salts you are trying to remove will not dissolve in 100% ethanol

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40
Q

How is resuspension carried out?

A

DNA is soluble in water, so most DNA preps will use purified water to re-suspend the pellet of DNA or to pass through the matrix and collect the DNA elute in a tube.
Another popular resuspension solution is TE buffer, which includes Tris and EDTA

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41
Q

What is in vivo DNA synthesis?

A

DNA replication within a cell

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42
Q

What is in vitro DNA synthesis?

A

DNA produced in a test tube/lab

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43
Q

What are the building blocks for synthesising DNA in nature?

A

Deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs). As the new base gets added to the 3’ end of the chain, two of the phosphates are lost

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44
Q

What are used instead of dNTPs when building DNA synthetically (without the use of enzymes)?

A

Phosphoramidites

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45
Q

Steps of building a synthetic DNA chain

A
  1. Detritylation removes the DMT blocking groups so that the next base can be added
  2. Phosphoramidites are sequentially added to the column to build up the sequence of choice by a coupling reaction
  3. Capping occurs to block unreacted OH groups from receiving new
  4. Oxidation is induced with iodine to stabilise the phosphodiester bond
46
Q

What is synthetic DNA used for?

A

Primers, probes, building synthetic genomes or storing digital data

47
Q

In what direction is DNA synthesised when produced synthetically?

A

3’ to 5’ direction

48
Q

When was DNA polymerase first purified?

A

1958

49
Q

Who developed the early PCR protocol in the 1960s and 70s?

A

Khorana and Molineaux

50
Q

How long would it take an experienced post doc to synthesise primers 10 bases long?

A

0.5-2 years

51
Q

What was the issue with early PCR techniques

A

The polymerase wasn’t thermostable so had to be added again after each cycle

52
Q

What is the name of thermostable polymerase?

A

Taq polymerase

53
Q

When we’re modern PCR protocols with Taq polymerase developed?

A

1985

54
Q

Who won the Nobel prize for the discovery of Taq polymerase and when?

A

Kary B. Mullis in 1993

55
Q

What does the modern PCR reaction require?

A 
Primers
Taq polymerase
dNTPs
DNA template
Buffer
56
Q

What thermophile was Taq polymerase isolated from?

A

Thermus aquaticus

57
Q

What are the three temperatures of the PCR cycle and what happens at each temperature?

A

1) 94 degrees Celsius: to break hydrogen bonds and separate double strands
2) 60 degrees Celsius: to allow complementary primers to anneal to DNA
3) 72 degrees Celsius: optimum temperature for Taq polymerase to extend the DNA chains

58
Q

What happens to the DNA primers after PCR?

A

They are incorporated into the strand, they are not removed

59
Q

What must be added to PCR products for next generation sequencing?

A

Labels

60
Q

What enables easy cloning of PCR products into a vector?

A

Restriction sites being added onto the ends

61
Q

How can point mutations be induced in PCR?

A

By using a mismatched primer, differing in only one base from the DNA strand. Wild type and mutant plasmids are produced this way

62
Q

What selectable markers can be used to distinguish between mutated and wild type plasmids?

A

Antibiotic resistance

Remove a restriction site of an ending lease (and treat the plasmid with this enzyme prior to the transformation)

63
Q

What is selection?

A

The process of selecting the bacterial cells which have taken up a plasmid

64
Q

What antibiotics do plasmid resistance genes usually make the bacteria resistant to?

A

Ampicillin or kanamycin

65
Q

What gene confers resistance to ampicillin?

A

bla - beta lactamase gene

66
Q

What is a multiple cloning site?

A

A DNA region within a plasmid that contains multiple unique restriction enzyme cut sites

67
Q

What is an operon?

A

An area holding several genes with similar functions e.g. lactose metabolism

68
Q

What does the lacZ’ gene encode?

A

A protein called B-galactosidase, which is involved in breaking down lactose

69
Q

What represses the expression of the lactose metabolism operon when lactose is not present?

A

A lac repressor

70
Q

How does lactose allow the expression of the genes within the operon?

A

It interferes with the binding site and represses the repressor, leaving RNA polymerase free to undergo transcription and translation, producing the proteins

71
Q

What is the molecular analogue to lactose?

A

IPTG

72
Q

What is the alternative substrate to lactose given to B-galactosidase?

A

X-gal

73
Q

What is the colour signal when B-galactosidase has broken down X -gal?

A

Colony changes from white to blue

74
Q

What are the two parts that B-galactosidase can be split into that work only when together?

A

a-peptide (can be put on plasmid)

w-peptide (in chromosome)

75
Q

What is the name of the mutant when only the w-peptide is present in DNA?

A

lacZ🔼M15 mutant

76
Q

What is the difference between the mutant and wild type E. coli?

A

Wild type has intact lacZ’ gene so produces intact B-galactosidase, so when grown on a medium of IPTG and X-gal, colonies will look blue. On the other hand, the mutant only produces the w-peptide of B-galactosidase, so colonies will look white

77
Q

What plasmid has the lacZ’ gene in it?

A

pUC18

78
Q

When the E. coli mutant is transformed with a non-recombinant pUC18, what colour is the colony when grown on an X-gal medium?

A

Blue - lacZ’ gene not disrupted by restriction enzyme

79
Q

When the E. coli mutant is transformed with a recombinant pUC18, what colour is the colony when grown on an X-gal medium?

A

White - lacZ’ gene disrupted but restriction enzyme and gene inserted

80
Q

What is the difference between a deoxyribose sugar and a divide sugar?

A

Deoxyribose sugar has single -OH group

Ribose sugar has two -OH groups

81
Q

What does ddNTP stand for?

A

dideoxyribonucleoside triphosphate

82
Q

What does a ddNTP lead to chain termination?

A

No -OH group on sugar, and there must be one to continue chain

83
Q

Other names for Sanger sequencing

A

Chain termination sequencing

Dideoxy-sequencing

84
Q

How does Sanger sequencing work?

A

1) Oligonucleotide primer anneals to single strand DNA. The DNA strand is extended by DNA polymerase with a mixture of dNTPs and ddNTPs
2) Thermal cycling similar to PCR

85
Q

Process of chain termination sequencing using ddNTPs

A

1) Fluorescently label ddNTPs (e.g. one colour for ddA, another for ddT, etc.)
2) Add DNA polymerase
3) Add ddGTP in low concentration
4) dATP, dGTP, dCTP and dTTP
5) Run through gel electrophoresis

86
Q

Three ways to measure genetic diversity:

A

1) Morphological traits: growth habit, weight at maturity, size, shape, etc. However traits can be affected by environment
2) DNA sequencing: expensive
3) Molecular markers (genotyping): cheaper, faster

87
Q

What are molecular markers?

A

Pieces of DNA which occur randomly throughout the genome that have been shown to be associated with a particular trait

88
Q

What is important about molecular markers?

A

They vary in form when a different allele is present for that particular trait

89
Q

What makes a good molecular marker?

A

One that can distinguish between homozygotes and heterozygotes

90
Q

Example of molecular marker

A

Microsatellites

91
Q

What are the other names for microsatellites?

A
  • Simple sequence repeats (SSRs)

- Sequence tagged simple sequence repeats (STSSRs)

92
Q

What is the occurrence of producing microsatellites?

A

Error made whilst replicating microsatellite DNA every 10-20 generations

93
Q

Why do microsatellites exist?

A

Some repeats may from Z-DNA, which may play a role in binding certain regulatory proteins, or recombination

94
Q

How many microsatellites does the average chromosome contain?

A

700-1000

95
Q

How are microsatellites used?

A

Surrounding a microsatellite is a unique sequence that appears nowhere else in the DNA of that species. Primers can be created for this unique DNA, so only that specific microsatellite will be amplified. Fragment size varies based on the length of the repeat

96
Q

Why might there be more than one band on the gel when a microsatellite DNA sample is amplified?

A

DNA polymerase made a few mistakes during PCR and this led to fragments with more or less bases

97
Q

What is the cost of using a microsatellite assay instead of sequencing?

A

0.5p, 1/1000th of the cost of sequencing

98
Q

Benefits of simple sequence repeats

A
  • SSRs are single locus, codominant, multi-allelic and PCR-based molecular markers
  • Can be used in mapping and diversity studies
  • SSRs can be multiplexed and automated
99
Q

Why is being co-dominant a benefit of using SSRs?

A

Can distinguish between heterozygotes and homozygotes

100
Q

Why is being multi-allelic a benefit of using SSRs?

A

Can determine specifically which of many alleles is present

101
Q

What do multiplexed and automated mean?

A

Can take microsatellites and primers from an allele on one chromosome, put them in the same PCR machine, run them on the gel and allow the gel to distinguish between the two microsatellites using fluorescent markers and automated sequences

102
Q

What is the problem with most molecular markers?

A

Need human intervention, and data analysis is time-consuming

103
Q

What is an SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism)?

A

The simplest and most common type of genetic variation, found every 1000 base pairs along the human genome

104
Q

What is an example of a disease caused by an SNP?

A

Sickle-cell anaemia - a single base substitution from A to T which changes one amino acid from glutamate to valine at position 6 of the protein. Red blood cells sickle-shaped

105
Q

Which SNPs are more common than others?

A

C to T is far more common than C to A.
A to G is more common than G to T.
It is easier to swap a purine with a purine than a purine with a pyrimidine, which could change the tertiary structure of the DNA

106
Q

Method 1 to convert a SNP into a useful molecular marker

A

PCR-RFLP:

Use a restriction enzyme to cut the DNA. If there is a SNP, the DNA will not be cut into two pieces.

107
Q

What is the problem with PCR-RFLP?

A

A machine may wrongly process pieces which have not been cut and give a wrong result

108
Q

Method 2 to convert a SNP into a useful molecular marker

A

Allele specific oligonucleotide (ASO) probe - detection of globin mutation:
Two probes are designed, one complementary to the normal DNA sequence and the other complementary to the nucleotide DNA sequence. Probes can be labelled with two different fluorescent markers. Add primers and DNA to thermal cycled. Heat up DNA so it denatures and immobilise it on an insoluble matrix. Allow it to cool so probes can find their complementary sequences. Once your probes have hybridised you can wash away the rest of the mixture then assay for the presence of probes. If the probe hybridises, you will see fluorescence

109
Q

How many DNA samples fit in one assay?

A

35,000

110
Q

What is the name for when multiple probes are used for different regions of DNA at the same time?

A

Multiplex assay

111
Q

Advantages of SNPs

A 
Cheaper than sequencing (1/1000th of cost)
Most frequent form of DNA variations 
Abundant and have slow mutation rates
Easy to score via automation
High throughput

Year 2 Biology Ellie M (10 decks)

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