The DNA

Engineering Life…

This crash course on DNA is meant to provide non-

scientists a basic knowledge of molecular biology
concepts, in order to better understand the
applications of DNA sequencing in forensic
medicine and the interpretations of its results
 What is it?
We can think of the DNA as a huge
library containing the information
necessary to the fabrication of
proteins, the building blocks of life.
The DNA has the structure of a very
long double helix, formed by chemical
compound, the bases.
 Where is it?
The DNA is in the nucleus of every cell,
except for red blood cells that don’t have
one. DNA is also found in cytoplasmic bodies
called mithocondria. It has a double helix
structure, the result of bonds between the
bases, that are complementary chemical
structures. DNA is highly compacted to fit
the nucleus.

Cells are made up of a nucleus separated by the cytoplasm by a

membrane, called nuclear membrane. The cytoplasm is enclosed by
the cytoplasmic membrane, is a selectively permeable membrane
that determines what goes in and out of the organism. All cells must
take in and retain all the various chemicals needed for metabolism.
Water, dissolved gases such as carbon dioxide and oxygen, and lipid-
soluble molecules simply diffuse across the membrane. Water-soluble
ions generally pass through small pores - less than 0.8 nm in
diameter - in the membrane . All other molecules require carrier
molecules to transport them through the membrane.
The double helix is coiled and compacted
within the nucleus. It is kept together by
the bases –the building bricks.
For the chemistry nuts  , the above shows the chemical structure of
the bricks or bases, how they’re called. They are coupled, so we
always find a bond A-T (Adenine-Thymine) and G-C (Guanine-Cytosine)
3D structure of different shapes of DNA. The different
color beads represent the bases A-T, G-C. They are
“glued” together by chemical bonding
Here we see better the bonds
between the bases
Now that we know what a DNA
molecule is, it’s much easier to
understand how DNA profiling can be
very useful in paternity profiling,
disease diagnostics, or even to
identify someone who left a few cells
behind, for example on a murder
scene.

As we’ll see later, only a few cells are

needed to perform a DNA analysis
yielding meaningful results
Let’s take another look at our DNA molecule. We can see that the
bases follow a sequence eg. CAAT CGT TCA etc. Some sequences on
the DNA are the “recipes” encoding for the synthesis of specific
proteins. Other portions are called non-coding DNA, and they contain
repeated base-pair sequences arranged in tandem which, while
having no known function, are inherited by individuals from their
parents.
These tandem repeats make up a DNA "fingerprint" that is unique
for each individual (apart from identical twins) because the number of
repeated sequences is highly variable from person to person. These
non-coding base-pair repeated sequences are called Variable
Number Tandem Repeats, or VNTR.
The DNA fragments chosen for forensic
use generally have a tandem repeat unit
of only three to four base-pairs, which may
be repeated in the DNA molecule from a
few to dozens of times. They are called
Short Tandem Repeats (STR)

These units consist only of three to four

base pairs and are very small, so only
small amounts of even badly
degraded DNA may be sufficient for
forensic use. In order to do so, we need
to increase the number of STR’s by use
of  polymerase chain reaction (PCR) a
technology that has been widely used in
different fields of medicine as well as
forensics
By use of the PCR technique, we can
make millions or billions of copies of
a selected, or target, DNA sequence.
Just think of PCR as a “molecular
DNA photocopier”.
The PCR/STR system is seen as
producing profiles that are highly
individual and random matches are
judged to be very unlikely.
 Sources
1) Watson, J.D., Crick, F.H.C.(1953) Molecular
Structure of Nucleic Acids. Nature,171, 737-738
2)DNA Testing: An Introduction For Non-Scientists-An
Illustrated Explanation
www.scientific.org/tutorials/articles/riley/riley.html