Week 1: Genetic Material Flashcards
1
Q
What properties does DNA have to have?
A
- Must be stable (not prone to mutation)
- Must be able to direct cellular processes in every single cell
2
Q
Who was Friedrich Miescher?
A
- Swiss doctor who experimented extracting material from white blood cells (1868)
- Isolated nuclein -> later called nucleic acid
3
Q
Who are Avery, Macleod and McCarty?
A
- Experimented with streptococcus pneumonia DNA proving it causes bacterial transformation (1944)
- Proved the process of DNA insertion
4
Q
Who are Hershey and Chase?
A
- Performed bacteriophage experiments to show DNA enters the host cell but proteins don’t (1953)
5
Q
What are the requirements of genetic material?
A
- Be stable over time
- Be able to be faithfully replicated
- Be able to control expression of traits
- Be able to change in a controlled way
6
Q
What was Rosalind Franklin’s contribution to the discovery of DNA?
A
- Performed X-Ray Crystallography
- Died at 37 so didn’t receive the Nobel Prize
7
Q
What was Maurice Wilkins’ contribution to the discovery of DNA?
A
- X-Ray Crystallographer
- Shared the Nobel Prize
8
Q
What were Watson and Crick’s contributions to the discovery of DNA?
A
- They came up with the double helix idea after modelling the data from the X-Ray Crystallography experiments
- Shared the Nobel Prize
9
Q
Describe DNA structure. (2pts)
A
- Right-handed double helix with complementary antiparallel strands
- Major and minor grooves
10
Q
What is the difference between nucleosides and nucleotides?
A
- Nucleotide= sugar + base + phosphate
- Nucleoside= sugar + base
11
Q
What are telomeres?
A
- Highly repetitive DNA that allows the ends of chromosomes to be replicated
- Protects the ends of chromosomes so they aren’t mistaken as broken
12
Q
What is the replication origin?
A
- Special sequence where duplication of DNA begins
- Each chromosome will have many of these at different positions
13
Q
What are the types of chromatin?
A
- Euchromatin: less compact DNA form which contains frequently expressed genes
- Heterochromatin: more compact and contains DNA that isn’t transcribed
