The Genome in Health and Disease Flashcards
what are carcinomas?
malignant tumours of epithelial cells
what are sarcomas?
tumours derived from the mesenchymal layer
what are the 6 hallmarks of cancer?
self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to anti-growth signals, evading apoptosis, limitless replicative potential, sustained angiogenesis, tissue invasion and metastasis
what are the extra updated hallmarks of cancer?
avoiding immune destruction, tumour-promoting inflammation, genome instability and mutation, deregulating cellular energetics
how many bases and genes does the human genome comprise?
3 x 10^9 bases, around 20000 genes
how close must a cell be to a blood vessel to avoid hypoxia?
about 10 cells distance
what is hypoxia?
inadequate oxygen diffusion to a cell
what is cachexia?
body wasting caused by cancer
who first isolated DNA?
Miescher
what are the 3 functions of DNA?
maintenance of the information encoded in the genome, propagation of the genetic information via cell division, reading the genetic information
what is the 5 carbon sugar used in DNA?
deoxyribose
which position has the extra-cyclic C atom in DNA?
5
which carbon position does not have a hydroxyl group attached in DNA?
2
which bases are purines?
adenosine and guanine
which bases are pyrimidines?
thymine and cytosine
what is a nucleoside?
a base and a ribose sugar
what is a nucleotide?
a base, a ribose and phosphate
which carbon are bases attached to in DNA?
the 1’ carbon
which carbon is the phosphate group attached to in DNA?
the 5’ carbon
which atoms do phosphodiester bonds form between in DNA?
the 3’ C of one ribose, the phosphate and the 5’ C of the ribose in the next nucleotide
what is the charge of a DNA or RNA strand at neutral pH?
negative
which is more prone to degradation in alkaline conditions, DNA or RNA?
RNA
what do riboswitches control?
gene expression
what does ribozyme catalyse?
peptide bond synthesis
are the DNA strands in the double helix left or right-handed?
right handed
are the DNA strands in the double helix parallel or anti-parallel?
anti-parallel
what is the charge of the phosphates in DNA?
negative
how many H bonds form between A and T?
2
how many H bonds form between G and C?
3
what is the angle between the plane of bases and the vertical axis of the DNA helix?
almost perpendicular
how many base pairs are present in one turn in B-DNA?
10.5
what is the rise per base pair in B-DNA?
3.4A
what is the width of the helix in B-DNA?
around 20A
what is the rise per helical turn called?
pitch
what is the rise per helical turn in B-DNA?
10.5 x 3.4A
what allows DNA to form sequence specific interactions with DNA binding proteins?
exposed functional groups on the edge of the aromatic bases
what is the most common structure of DNA in chromosomal DNA?
the B form
what form does double stranded RNA adopt?
the A-form
which is wider, the A form or the B form?
the A form
which has a more compressed, narrower major groove, the A form or the B form?
the A form
what type of DNA tends to adopt an A like conformation?
GC-rich
which has a wider minor groove, the A form or B form?
the A form
what is different about the Z form to the B form?
left-handed, phosphate backbone follows zigzag trajectory
what role does the Z form seem to have?
role in modulating gene expression
what causes local changes in the shape of B form DNA?
local nucleotide composition
what is the diameter of a human cell nucleus and how long is the DNA housed within it?
nucleus 5 microns diameter, DNA 2 metres long
what mechanism does DNA use to compact into the nucleus?
supercoiling
which direction is the twisting in positive supercoiling?
right-handed
what does overwound supercoiling cause?
the DNA helix to distort and ‘knot’
which direction is the twisting in negative supercoiling?
left-handed
what does underwound supercoiling cause?
DNA knotted into negative supercoils
what resists supercoiling in DNA?
ends of DNA fixed to proteinaceous scaffold, long DNA tails have high viscosity
how is supercoiling achieved in the cell DNA?
by a small degree of underwinding which reduces the number of turns of the double helix
what does underwinding of DNA facilitate?
compaction (important for packing DNA into cell) and strand separation (important for DNA metabolism)
what are two cellular processes which generate supercoiling?
mRNA transcription and DNA replication
what is the name of the enzymes that are involved in supercoiling?
topoisomerases
how do topoisomerases work?
by cleaving and rejoining the DNA strands
what is the nucleoid?
a ‘rosette’ model of DNA orgainsation with around 500 loops emanating from a proteinaceous scaffold-like core
what is chromatin?
the structure formed by chromosomal DNA bound to proteins such as histones and other DNA packaging factors
what is the basic unit of chromatin in eukaryotic cells?
the nucleosome
what is DNA wound around in the nucleosome?
a protein ‘barrel’ made up of 8 histone proteins (a histone octamer)
what are the histones present in each nucleosome?
2 copies of H2A, H2B, H3 and H4
how many nucleotides of DNA are present in a nucleosome?
147
how many left-handed turns does the DNA make around the histone octamer in the nucleosome core particle?
1.7
what property helps histones bind to the phosphate groups in DNA?
histones are positively charged, phosphate groups are negatively charged
what part of the histones in the NCP particle are susceptible to chemical modification by cellular enzymes?
the amino terminal tails which project beyond the DNA gyres
what does H1 bind in the NCP?
nucleosomal DNA at the entry and exit positions
what is H1 also known as and why?
linker histone as it binds the linker DNA between nucleosomes
what is the most common form of chromatin?
the 10-nm fibre
what gives the 10nm chromatin fibre its beads-on-a-string appearance?
a linear array of NCPs separated by linker DNA
what is the nucleosome repeat length in chromatin?
around 200 nucleotides
what causes the 10nm fibre to transition into the 30nm fibre?
specific buffer conditions of low salt and the presence of divalent metal ions
what are the characteristics of the 30nm chromatin fibre?
compact and regular
what does the large majority of chromatin in the cell nucleus fold into?
local heterogenous clusters or globules of nucleosomes without long-range regularity
what does chromatin compaction regulate?
transcription
what is euchromatin?
the more open form of chromatin - transcriptionally active
what is the transcriptionally active form of chromatin?
euchromatin
what is heterochromatin?
the more condensed form of chromatin, transcriptionally inactive
what is the transcriptionally inactive form of chromatin?
heterochromatin
what is the DNA loop?
a large region of DNA that is anchored at its base to a proteinaceous chromosomal scaffold and is spacially and transcriptionally segregated from rest of genome
what are the consequences of the DNA loop on gene reglation?
bring enhancer and promoter regions together
what is the role of the DNA loop in DNA recombination?
involved in recombination in maturation of immunoglobulin genes
what does SMC stand for?
structural maintenance of chromosome
what are the SMC proteins?
cohesin and condensin
how are SMC proteins typically arranged?
split ATPase domain separated by a long helical region that folds in on itself at hinge position to reconstitute a globular ATPase domain
what forms the characteristic V-shaped appearance of SMC proteins?
2 SMC proteins coming together by hinge dimerisation
what links the head domains in cohesin and condensin?
a non-SMC subunit
what does the head domains being linked by a non-SMC subunit mean for cohesin and condensin?
they have a topological ring structure that can trap 1 or more DNA molecules in the ring
what determines the size of the DNA loop in chromosomal DNA?
adjacent binding sites of CTCF
what is CTCF?
a DNA-binding protein that recognises specific sequence motifs and recruits cohesin
what does cohesin connect?
physically distant sites on DNA
what is the loop-extrusion model?
condensin extrudes loops of DNA. condensin molecules approach each other. chromosome loops around the longitudinal axis form threadlike structures, chromatin packs into a metaphase chromosome
when does cohesin compact chromosomes?
at interphase
when does condensin compact chromosomes?
in mitosis
what are the constituent units of chromosomal DNA at the megabase scale?
DNA loops
what is the megabase scale?
10e6
what does TAD stand for?
topologically associated domain
what is a TAD?
several DNA loops folded together
what is the chromosome territory?
the unique volume occupied by each chromosome in the nucleus
what can each chromosome territory be divided into transcriptionally?
2 compartments, A and B, that are respectively transcriptionally active (predominantly euchromatin) and inactive (mainly heterochromatin)
where does the heterochromatin compartment usually sit in the chromosome territory?
on the outside
where does the euchromatin compartment usually sit in the chromosome territory?
in the centre
what can the likelihood of translocations be determined by?
spatial proximity
what is Burkitt’s lymphoma characterised by?
a translocation between the MYC gene and 1 of 3 immunoglobulin gene variants located on different chromosomes
what is the most common translocation in Burkitt’s lymphoma and why?
MYC:IGH as IGH is spatially the closest immunoglobulin to Myc
what can modify chromatin status?
binding of H1 causing compaction, post-translational modifications of histone tails, chromatin remodellers
what are chromatin remodellers?
multi-subunit protein complexes with ATPase activity that can alter the position of nucleosomes
can histone modifications be inheritable?
yes
what is the effect of lysine acetylation?
reduces the overall positive charge of the histones, so reduces ability to interact with DNA, reduces chromatin compaction
what do chromatin ‘writer’ enzymes do?
add chemical signals
what do chromatin ‘eraser’ enzymes do?
remove chemical signals
what doe chromatin ‘reader’ proteins do?
recognise each unique set of chromatin modifications and trigger a transcriptional response
what doe nucleosome remodellers do?
use the energy from ATP hydrolysis to shift histones and alter local chromatin structure
what do nucleosome remodellers contain?
a DNA translocation motor and ‘reader’ subunits for targeting the remodeller to a specific chromatin site
when does DNA replication take place?
S phase
how many base pairs does each cell contain?
3 billion
what type of replication is DNA replication?
semi-conservative
what would dispersive replication produce?
strands with fragments of parental and daughter DNA in a mosaic
what is the origin of replication?
the specific sequence at which replication initiates in prokaryotes
how long is the origin of replication in E.coli?
around 250bp
what is the origin of replication known as in E.coli?
OriC
what binds to the origin of replication to begin the process of replication?
DnaA, an initiator protein
what does DnaA bind to?
DnaA boxes in the origin of replication
what are DnaA boxes?
a tandem repeat of DNA sequences
what causes local melting of the double helix in DNA replication?
DNA unwinding element (DUE)
what is DnaB?
a DNA helicase that uses the energy from ATP hydrolysis to unwind dsDNA
what are some features shared by all replicative helicases?
hexameric ring proteins, ATP-driven molecular motors
what loads the DnaB helicase onto the unwound origin DNA?
the protein loader DnaC
what does DnaC cause?
transient opening of the helicase ring and its subsequent closure around the DNA strand- steric exclusion- 1 DNA strand threaded through the ring, peeling off the 2nd strand
what stabilises the exposed ssDNA in DNA replication?
interaction with the single-stranded DNA-binding protein
what does SSB stand for?
single stranded DNA-binding protein
what are the properties of SSB protein?
binds to ssDNA with high affinity and no sequence specificity
how does SSB protein work?
coats the DNA strand to prevent reannealing and protect it from possible nuclease degradation
in what direction does DNA replication proceed after initiation?
bidirectionally from origin creating replication bubble
what are replication forks?
the Y-shaped structures that move away from the initiation point in DNA replication
by means of what process and enzyme does DNA synthesis take place?
nucleotide polymerisation by DNA polymerase
what is needed for nucleotide polymerisation?
a primer annealed to template with free 3’ end and deoxynucleotide triphosphates
what direction does nucleotide polymerisation take place in?
5’ to 3’ direction
how many DNA polymerases does E.coli have?
5
what is the role of DNA polymerase I in E. coli?
roles in nick-translation during Okazaki fragment processing
what is the main replicative enzyme in E. coli?
DNA polymerase III
how many DNA polymerase have been found in humans?
at least 15
how many DNA polymerases perform the bulk of DNA synthesis in DNA replication in humans?
3
which DNA polymerases perform the bulk of DNA synthesis during DNA replication in humans?
alpha, delta, epsilon
what are the roles of DNA polymerases not involved in DNA synthesis in DNA replication in humans?
nucleotide polymerisation in DNA repair in presence of damage or gaps in DNA
what do DNA polymerases rely on to start DNA synthesis?
specialised polymerase called primase
what does primase synthetise?
a short RNA primer on the template DNA that is extended by DNA polymerase
what is primase called in bacteria?
DnaG
what is primase strictly speaking?
a DNA dependent RNA polymerase
how long is the RNA primer primase synthesises?
5-15 nucleotides
is primase more important in leading or lagging strand synthesis?
Lagging
in which strand does nucleotide polymerisation proceed in the same direction as the advancing fork?
the leading strand
how is the lagging strand replicated?
in short segments called Okazaki fragments
how long are Okazaki fragments in bacteria?
about 1000 bases
how long are Okazaki fragments in eukaryotes?
about 100-200 bases
from what end does DNA pol I hydrolyses RNA and DNA?
the 5’ end
what replaces the RNA primer with DNA in the lagging strand?
DNA pol I
what seals the Okazaki fragments together?
DNA ligase
how many bases does the leading strand DNA polymerase keep going for?
about 2.5 million
what is processivity?
the ability of a polymerase to polymerise nucleotide without stopping
what ‘sliding clamp’ protein does DNA pol II rely on?
the β-clamp