Unit 6 Flashcards
Which nucleotides are purines?
Adenine and Guanine
pure AS GOLD
Which nucleotides are pyrimidines?
Cytosine Uracil and Thymine
How can you recognize Adenine?
Two rings, NH2 at the top
How to recognize Guanine?
Two rings, C=O at the top
How to recognize Cytosine?
One ring, NH2
How to recognize Thymine?
One ring, two carbonyls, one methyl
How to recognize Uracil?
One ring, two carbonyls
Draw the strucutre of ribose
Has an OH on the 2’ carbon
Draw the structure of deoxyribose
Has an H on the 2’ carbon
Given the structure of the bases in Fig 8-2 (p. 264) draw structures representing
a 2’-deoxynucleoside
Nucleoside means that you have a nitrogenous base and sugar group (sugar)
OH group on 1’ carbon is replaced by a nitrogenous base
Given the structure of the bases in Fig 8-2 (p. 264) draw structures representing
a 2’-deoxynucleotide
Nucleotide means that you have the nitrogenous base, sugar group, and phosphate group added
Phosphate group replaces the OH in CH2OH
Given the structure of the bases in Fig 8-2 (p. 264) draw structures representing
a 2’-deoxynucleoside 5’ -di- or triphosphate =
Add three phosphate groups
Write out the numbering convention for the pentose group
Which atom in the sugar is the base attached to? What kind of bond joins the sugar to the base?
The 1’ carbon
N-beta-glycosyl
Identify the atom that is found at the 2’ position in deoxyribonucleotides? In ribonucleotides?
- Deoxy: two H’s
- Ribo: H on top, OH on bottom
What functional group is at the 3’ position in ribo and deoxyribonucleotides? To which atom in the sugar is the phosphate bond?
- Hydroxyl group
- The 5’ carbon
Discuss the nucleotides found in DNA. Compare and contrast these nucleotides to those found in RNA
DNA nucleotides: A,C,T,G
RNA nucleotides: A,C,U,G
When we polymerize nucleotides, how many phosphate groups does the dTNP have to have?
has to be triphosphate
Draw the reaction mechanism for polymerization of nucleotides:
- Polymerization is from 5’ to 3’ (because we are adding with the 3’ hydroxyl group)
- OH on 3’ carbon attacks the first phosphate group on the next nucleotide, pushing the electrons off of the oxygen adjacent to the phosphate.
- hydroxyl’s H is lost in the process of creating the phosphodiester bond
What is the product of nucleotide polymerization?
pyrophosphate
Draw out a section of DNA (use the letters A,C,G, and T to represent the structure of the base). Point out the following:
a. phosphodiester linkage
b. sugar-phosphate backbone
c. 5’ and 3’ ends
d. overall charge
- when you draw this, make sure your 5’ phosphate is pointed towards the ceiling and label it as 5’
- make sure every P has four O’s around it
a. binds the 3’ carbon of one pentose to the 5’ of another through phosphodiester linkage
b. alternativing pentose and phosphate bonds
c. always being added to the 3’ end, towards the bottom
d. negative due to the phosphate groups being ionized and having a negative charge at pH 7
Distinguish between an oligonucleotide and polynucleotide ?
Oligonucleotide: short nucleic acid (usually fewer than 50 bp)
Polynucleotide: A longer nucleic acid
Is the DNA helix right or left handed?
Right-handed
What two factors keep strands together (pay attention to the phrasing of this question)?
- Hydrogen bonds between complementary bases
- Base stacking interactions (hydrophobic interactions)
Which bonds are stronger, G-C or A-T?
G-C bonds because they have 2 H=Bonds while A-T have two
We know this because when you try to separate DNA with more G-C pairs than A-T, it’s harder to pull apart
Are A-T pairs or G-C pairs longer?
A-T pairs are longer (11.1 Angstroms) than G-C pairs (10.8 Angstroms)
But since purine will always be paired with a pyrimidine, the width/diameter of the double helix will remain the same
Where are the sugar phosphate backbones located on the DNA molecule?
They are located on the outside facing the water because the phosphate contains a negative charge. That means it is hydrophilic and wants to interact with water
Where are the stacked base pairs located? Why?
Bases are aromatic and nonpolar. Therefore, they are hydrophobic and do not interact with water. Due to the hydrophobic effect, the forces between the bases is stronger.
Major and Minor group (draw this out)
The offset pairing of the two strands creates a major and minor groove. The major groove has a bigger space between the strands while the minor strand has a smaller space
What word is used to describe the polarity of the two strands?
They are antiparallel
What two forces STABILIZE the DNA double helix?
Technically there are three
- Metal cations: The double helix is primarily stabilized by metal cations that shield the negative charges of the backbone phosphates
- Base stacking interaction between successive base pairs. GC bonds are stronger than the successive A-T pairs
- The hydrogen bonds do not contribute significantly to the stability of the structure
How can DNA be reversibly denatured?
When subjected to extreme pH’s or temperatures above 80ºC
Discuss the types of bonds broken during denaturation?
-Hydrogen bonds and the base-stacking interactions (hydrophobic interaction) causes unwinding of the double helix to form two single strands
- No covalent bonds are broken
Describe the experimental procedures for generating this graph. How is percent denaturation quantified?
Draw out what the x and y axis are
***
The DNA’s temperature increases at controlled rates and the concentration of double stranded DNA is checked with fluorescence
What is the relationship between tm and the base composition? Why does this relationship exists?
- LINEAR RELATIONSHIP. The higher the content of G-C base pairs, the higher the melting point of the DNA. This is because G-C pairs make greater contributions to stacking than do A-T pairs
What is the melting point (tm)
The temperature at which 50% of the DNA strands are presented as single separated strands
Define annealing
When the temperature or pH is returned to the range in which most organisms live, the unwound segments of the two strands spontaneously rewind, or anneal, to yield the intact duplex
Do Worked Example 8-1 on Base Pairing in DNA
Define and distinguish between DNA replication, transcription, and translation
- DNA Replication: copying of parental DNA to form daughter DNA with identical nucleotide sequences
- Transcription: parts of the genetic message encoded in DNA are copied precisely into RNA
- Translation: genetic message encoded in messenger RNA is translated on the ribosomes into a polypeptide with a particular sequence of amino acids
What is a gene?
All the DNA that encodes the primary sequence of some final gene product, which can be either a polypeptide or an RNA with a structural or catalytic function
What distinguishes a plasmid from a chromosome?
- Chromosome: A single large DNA molecule and its associated proteins and often associated regulatory or structural RNA; containing many genes; stores and transmits genetic information
- Plasmids: in addition to the very large, circular DNA chromosomes in their nucleoid, many bacteria contain one or more small circular DNA molecules that are free in the cytosol.
–> many plasmids have no obvious advantage to their host and seem to have self-propagation as their only function. However, some plasmids carry genes that are useful to host bacterium (like making bacteria resistant to antibacterial agents)
Is all eukaryotic DNA stores in the nucleus?
No, there is some DNA that can be found in the mitochondria and chloroplast due to the endosymbiont theory
Intron
A sequence of nucleotides that is transcribed but removed from the RNA transcript before translation; also called intervening sequence
Exon
“coded region”. The segment of a eukaryotic gene that encodes a portion of the final product of the gene; a segment of RNA that remains after post-trasnlational processing and is transcribed into a protein or incorporated into the structure of an RNA
Satellite DNA
Also referred to as simple-sequence DNA. Highly repeated, non translational segments of DNA in eukaryotic chromosomes; most often associated with the centromeric region. It’s function is unknown and it is called satellite because it often separates from the rest of the DNA.
Centromere
A sequence of DNA that functions during cell division as an attachment point for proteins that link the chromosome to the mitotic spindle
Telomere
Sequences at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that help stabilize the chromosome. They end with multiple repeat sequences
How can the linking number change?
Only if you break one or both of the strands