What are the three constituent molecules of a nucleotide?
Phosphate group, ribose or deoxyribose sugar, nitrogenous base
Which carbon atom is attached to the nitrogenous base?
1' carbon
Which carbon atom is attached to the phosphate group?
5' carbon
What is the purpose of DNA?
Storing genetic information Stored in the nitrogenous base
What are the four nitrogenous bases in DNA?
Adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine
What are the four nitrogenous base sin RNA?
Adenine, guanine, cytosine, uracil
What is the difference between the 5' end and the 3' end?
3' carbon in the pentose sugar with hydroxyl group while 5' carbon is attached to the phosphate group
DNA is a
double stranded molecule runs anti parallel
What is the name of the bond that connects two nucleotides?
phosphodiester bond (polar)
What is the function of DNA Polymerase I?
removes RNA primer and replaces them with DNA nucleotide
What is the function of DNA polymerase III?
Synthesizes daughter strands
Function of Helicase ?
separates parent DNA strands
Function of Ligase?
connects Okazaki fragments
Function of primase?
generates RNA primer
Function of telomeres?
lengthens telomeres
Function of single stranded binding proteins?
Reduces super-coiling of DNA, which allows helicase to operate Keep the strand separated by holding them in place
Where does DNA replication take place?
Origin of replication
How does Helicase operate?
Breaks down hydrogen bonds between nucleotides which allows double-helix to separate
What direction does the DNA Polymerase III move along the template strand?
3' - 5'
What direction does the DNA polymerase III move along the daughter strand?
5' - 3'
mismatched proteins
detect mismatches and excise patch of nucleotides
What reduces spontaneous mismatches?
mismatch repair and proofreading by DNA polymerase
Another source of mutation?
UV induces crosslinks between adjacent primidines (C and/or T)
Why do UV induce mutation need to be repaired?
Because neither DNA polymerase nor RNA polymerase can get past them.
What allows repair on damaged base pairs?
the double stranded nature of DNA
mutation
new allele crick base pairing
damaged nucleotide
example include accidentally methylated base It will be detected and the methyl group will be removed by O6methylguanine methyltransferase
DNA damage can be
mutagenic (can cause mutations)
mutation can not be
repaired
Error-free repair of a degraded double strand break
homologous recombination unbroken sister chromatid is used as a template
What if a double strand break occurs but no sister chromatid is available?
the broken ends may simply be rejoined- which might result in a deletion mutation, if any bases were damaged or lost.
This is called a nonhomologous end joining
In eukaryotes...
there are 3 different RNA polymerases
In eubacteria and Archeans...
there are one RNA polymerases
rRNA
Ribosomal
transcribes from ribosomal RNA genes
makes up most of the ribosome
stable
mRNA
transcribed from protein-coding genes -carries copy of coding region of gene
translated to protein
unstable
tRNA
transcribed from tRNA genes
an adaptor that recognizes sequences of nucleic acids on mRNA and pairs them with the correct amino acids
stable, recycled
RNA is like DNA, but
ribose instead of deoxyribose (NTPs vs dNTPS) Uracil instead of Thymine
Requirements for Transcription
DNA template, the appropriate RNA polymerase, Ribonucleotide triphosphate: ATP, UTP, CTP, GTP
Steps include:
Initiation
Elongation
Termination
Initiation and Promoter
Promoter is a DNA sequence that binds and directs RNA polymerase to initiate transcription
Specifies location, orientation, and fréquence of initiation
1st step of Initiation
RNA polymerase binds to DNA at the promoter
RNA polymerase unwinds and separates the DNA
2nd step of initiation
The 2nd strands of DNA separate within RNA polymerase, transcription begins (upstream)
RNA synthesis (elongation)
Synthesis is anti-parallel to the
template strand
RNA sequence matches that of the "coding strand"
Rules of RNA Transcription
RNA polymerase moves toward the 5' end of the template strand
mRNA is built antiparallel to the DNA, in the 5' to 3' direction
new nucleotides are added to the 3' end of the strand
RNA Pol. does not need a primer to start synthesis
Polymerase moves which way on the template strand
3' to 5'
termination =
dissociation of RNA polymerase from the DNA
Eukrayotic mRNAs must be processed from preRNA to mRNA in 3 steps
Capping of the 5' end
Polydenylation (adding many A's to the polyadenylation site)
Splicing which removes introns - noncoding sequences - from pre-mRNA
codons
sixty four - three letter 'words' spelled by RNA basses sense = correspond to an amino acid
How is the information from the genetic code converted into the language of amino acids?
There must be an adapter molecule (tRNA)
Where do tRNAs come from?
They are encoded by genes, transcribed by RNA Polymerase III (in eukaryotes)
More tRNA facts
They are recycled - amino acid carriers enzyme double checks that the correct amino acid is attached to the tRNA
A charged tRNA has
had the correct amino acid attached to its 3' end
Animoacylation of tRNA
adding an amino acid to the 3' end of a tRNA = "charging"
What do adapter molecules do?
Hold amino acids and interact with mRNA codons
What happens when RNA polymerase hits a nonsense mutation?
Transcription continues until a transcription termination site is reached.
Circular DNA is found in which type of cell?
Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
Strong Promoter means
RNA Polymerase binds very tightly, so the transcription rate is high
In what type of cells doe genes contain exons, which are interrupted by introns, which are spliced after transcription?
Eukaryotic cells
Which of the following represents a change that CANNOT be passed on to the next generation? A. Changes in gene expression due to increased production of a hormone. B. Changes in DNA packaging leading to gene silencing. C. Changes in DNA sequence due to exposure to radiation. D. None of the above, as they are all heritable changes.
A. Changes in gene expression due to increased production of a hormone.
Eukaryotic DNA is packed into nucleosomes due to the action of:
Histones
Does RNA polymerase require help to bind to weak promoters?
Yes
The role of ligase is to
seal nicks (single strand breaks in the backbone) in DNA
What is the role of DNA Pol I in DNA replication?
Replaces primers required for DNA synthesis with DNA
DNA double strands breaks are intentionally generated by the cell during ... and are repaired via ...
Meiosis, homologous recombination
The promoter tells RNA polymerase:
where to begin transcription How often to being transcription Which strand to transcribe
RNA splicing
eliminate internal noncoding sequences from mRNA
Horiztontal gene transfer includes
Examples: Insertion of a gene from a jellyfish into a mouse The generation of the first eukaryotes from a bacterium and an archean
Positive regulation
Transcription factor increases transcription by binding to a regulatory element (activation)
Negative regulation
Transcription factor blocks transcription by binding to a regulatory element (repression)
What are the layers of gene regulation?
Promoter strength: weak or strong
transcription factor: activator or repressor
regulation of the transcription factor
What are regulatory sequences?
Regions of DNA with specific sequences that can, when bound by a transcription factor, help increase or decrease gene expression
What is an enhancer?
Regulatory sequence that helps enhance (increase) gene expression
silencer
regulatory sequence that helps inhibit (decrease) gene expression
effector
a molecule that binds transcription factors to change transcription
inducer
a molecule that binds to repressors to deactivate them (prevent binding to DNA) or binds to activators to activate them (allow binding to DNA)
inhibitor
a molecule that binds to activators and prevents from binding to DNA (opposite of inducer)
operator
a regulatory sequence to which a repressor can bind These are found in Prokaryotic cells
The majority of DNA in bacterial cells is synthesized from:
DNA polymerase
Without primase...
Replication would be unable to start
DNA FACT
DNA is negatively-charged and migrates from the negative end to the positive end
Which of the RNA molecules can be described as a copy of the gene that codes for a protein?
mRNA (carries the genetic information necessary to build a protein)
Hydrogen bonds between nitrogenous bases
A and T = 2 G and C = 3 A and U = 2
Where does DNA replication and transcription occur in eukaryotes?
The nucleus
Where does translation occur in eukaryotes?
The ribosome
Where does DNA replication occur in prokaryotes?
Cytoplasm
Where does transcription and translation occur in prokaryotes?
Cytoplasm
What sites must be present in DNA so that RNA polymerase can transcribe the DNA to RNA?
RNA binding site transcription start site transcription stop site
What two things does the promoter determine?
where RNA polymerase binds to DNA
What is the -10 sequence in the promoter known as?
TATA box
How does a base-pair change in the promoter affect transcription?
Base-pair changes affect the ability of RNA polymerase to recognize and bind to the promoter
Transcription: Elongation
Double stranded DNA that enters from the front of the enzyme is unwound and the template strand is made available for complementary base pairing
Two DNA strands reunite at the trailing end of the transcription bubble while the single-stranded RNA emerges alone
The bubble generated by RNA polymerase is small
In transcription elongation, when joining nucleotides together, what is the exergonic reaction?
Breaking of the phosphoanhydride bond
What is the purpose of the 5' cap?
Regulation of nuclear export prevention of degradation by exonucleases promotion of translation promotion of 5' proximal intron excision
What is splicing?
Splicing removes introns and splices exon together Multiple proteins can be obtained from one gene Exon exit the nucleus, whereas the introns stay
initiation summary
the ribosome assembles around the mRNA. The first tRNA is attached at the start codon
Elongation Overview
The tRNA transfers an amino acid to the tRNA corresponding to the codon. The ribosome then moves to the next mRNA codon to continue the process, creating an amino acid
termination overview
When a peptidyl tRNA encounters a stop codon, the ribosome folds the polypeptide into its final structure
Which direction does tRNA attach to mRNA?
Antiparallel IF mRNA is read 5'-3', the tRNA will be 3'-5-
What enzyme attaches amino acid to tRNA molecules?
Aminoacyl tRNA syntestases attach amino acids to the tRNA molecules
Missense Mutation
A mutation that results in a different amino acid in the peptide chain