Chapter 18: Structure of DNA

• Replication is only for DNA

• DNA is transcribed into RNA
• RNA is translated into protein
• Due to protein varying so much, it was thought in the 1800’s to be genetic code
• Timeline of DNA
○ Late 20’s: Griffith Transformation Experiment


 Transformation is uptake of naked DNA into cell
 Conclusion: the bacteria can pass something on
 Griffith’s most intriguing disc:-pneumonia can be injuced by injecting animals with a mixture of
life R-strain bacteria and dead S-strain bacteria.
 Genetic transformation- is referred to the active (though still unknown) substance in the S
cells as the “transforming principle”

○ 40’s: Hershey and Chase Experiment
 Used a bacteriophage
• Combined with radioisotopes P and 35S
32

○ 32
P will show up in DNA
○ 35
S will show up protein
• Put mixture of each in a blender (Isotope, phage, and host)
○ In P, supernatant is hot
32

○ In S, pellet is hot
35

○ Chargoff
 Analyzed DNA from different species
 Percentages differ with base pairs but stay the same within species
 Also discovered that G amount = C amount and T amount = A amount

January 15, 2009

• A worldwide frenzy started to figure all of this out

• Watson and Crick

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 ○ Didn’t do experiments, just interpreted data
• Wilkins and Franklin
○ X-ray crystallographers
○ Wilkins showed Watson and Crick Franklin’s data
• Watson and Crick figured out the mystery in 1953
• Watson’s next involvement was with the human genome project by lobbying congress
• Bottom Line: DNA Structure
○ Double helix with sugar-phosphate backbone
 Sugars have Nitrogen containing bases
○ Right hand helix with minor and major grooves
○ If a big protein (or whatever) pushes in the major groove, the structure can bend
○ 1 helix twist in 3.4 nm
○ 10 base pairs/turn
○ Bacterial genome: 3 million base pairs
○ Human genome: 3 x 109 base pairs
○ Β-DNA is the most common DNA form
○ Z-DNA is left-handed caused by some base pair combos
○ A-DNA is usually seen only in lab situations from a lack of salt
• How to build DNA
○ Building blocks are nucleotides
 Nucleotide has ribose, 5C sugar, N-containing ‘base’ and a phosphate group

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  A and G are purines (2 rings) and C and T are primidines (1 ring)
○ ATP is ribonucleotide, denoted dATP for the difference
 For the three phosphates, they are named α, β, γ (α is closest to the structure)
○ RNA has uracil instead of thymine
○ Dehydration reaction adds nucleotides (remove water to connect monomers)
○ dATP, dCTP, dGTP, dTTP are substrates for replication
○ γ and β leave as pyrophosphate
○ add to 3’ end
○ makes phosphodiester bond (C-O-P-O-C)
○ Nucleic acid strain is highly negatively charged
○ 5’ end has free phosphate
○ 3’ end has free hydroxyl group
○ Backbone is held together by the phosphodiester bonds
○ Strands must be aligned with an inverted strand
○ H bonding (bonding with partial charges) is responsible for holding nucleotides together (A-T and G-C)
○ C-G has 3 bonds while A-T has 2
• RNA is typically single stranded
• DNA supercoils to relieve extratorsional strain
○ Topoisomer: how the DNA physically is (supercoiled or normal)
○ Topoisomerases can convert 1 topoisomer to another

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