Chapter 11: DNA & Genes

Section 11.1 DNA : The Molecule of Heredity

I. What is DNA?

1. genetic blue print of our bodies; holds all the information and instructions needed by the
body.

2. the environment might influence how an organism develops, but ultimately it is the
genetic information found in DNA that determines an organism’s traits.

*DNA = Deoxyribonucleic Acid

3. DNA produces proteins; all actions done by the body depend on special proteins called
enzymes.

4. Enzymes - specialized proteins that control chemical reactions in the body.

i.e.) lactose enzymes

A. The Structure of DNA

*DNA is a polymer made up of repeating subunits called Nucleotides.

1. Nucleotides – macromolecule composed of three parts: a simple sugar, a phosphate

group, and a nitrogenous base.

a) Simple Sugar – deoxyribose (draw picture from notes)

b) Phosphate Group - composed of one atom of phosphorus surrounded by 4 oxygen

atoms
(draw Picture from notes)

c) Nitrogenous Base – a carbon ring structure that contains one or more atoms of
Nitrogen

4 Types of Nitrogenous Bases in DNA: (draw pictures from notes)

1) Adenine (A)

2) Guanine (G)
 3) Cytosine (C)

4) Thymine (T)

The Nucleotide: (draw picture of a nucleotide from notes)

2. The DNA Double Helix

*DNA is composed of two strands twisted together, resembling a twisted ladder. These
strands are called a “double helix” because of their shape and the fact that there are two
of them.

a) The Sugar-Phosphate Backbone – nucleotides form together at their phosphate

and sugar group, thus forming a chain of S-P-S-P-S-P etc.

b) The “rungs” of the “ladder” – the “rungs” of the double helix “ladder” are the
Nitrogenous bases; the bases pair with each other in a special order.

1) Adenine-Thymine Pair (A-T) - adenine always pairs w/ thymine; this was

discovered because it was found that there are equal amounts of adenine and
thymine in a DNA helix.

2) Cytosine-Guanine Pair (C-G) – Cytosine and Guanine always pair together

b/c they are found in equal amounts in a molecule of DNA.

Percentage of Each Base in DNA Samples

Source of Sample A G C T
Human Liver 30.3 19.5 19.9 30.3
Human Thymus 30.9 19.9 19.8 29.4
Herring Sperm 27.8 22.2 22.6 27.5
Yeast 31.7 18.2 17.4 32.6
 3. The Infamous Watson & Crick

James Watson & Francis Crick were credited with figuring out the structure of DNA.

The team built a model depicting the nitrogenous bases as being the “rungs of the ladder”
held together by hydrogen bonds. The base pairs were pictured as being located within
the sugar-phosphate backbone, like teeth on a closed zipper.

The reasoning for this structure is that the two DNA strands are complementary;
this means that if you know the sequence of bases on one strand, you can figure out the
sequence on the other strand.

B. Why the Nucleotide Sequence is Important

*all organisms are composed of different proteins, but yet every organism is composed of the
same 4 bases – A,C,T,G. How is it possible that organisms can be so different from each
other if their genetic material is made of the same nucleotides?

1. Nucleotide Sequence - the nucleotide sequence is just the order that the nitrogenous
bases are in.
i.e.) T-A-C-T-G-G-T-C

2. differences in nucleotide sequences – organisms appear different because their

nucleotides are in different orders.

i.e.) T-A-A-C-G-T is different from A-A-T-C-G-A

*the sequence is like words, and depending on their order they spell out
different things.

3. similarities between different organisms – the closer the relationship between two
organisms, the greater the similarity in their order of DNA nucleotides.
i.e.) Chimp DNA is similar to Gorilla DNA, but not as similar to plant DNA.

4. Importance of DNA Sequencing in Society:

Nucleotide Sequences can be used to :

a) determine whether two people are related

b) determine the father of a child
c) determine the criminal of a crime

II. Replication of DNA:

*before a cell can divide, it must make an extra copy of each chromosome

*DNA Replication – The process by which DNA makes a copy of itself; if DNA replication
did not occur, new cells would have only ½ the amount of DNA and w/ each division the
chromosome number would decrease.
A. How DNA Replicates

*remember that DNA is composed of two complementary strands; during replication each
strand serves as a pattern or mold to make a brand new strand.

Steps of Replication:

1. Separation of the Double Helix Strands

a) enzymes break the hydrogen bonds holding the double helix together

b) the two strands become “unzipped,” forming a “replication fork”

2. Base Pairing

a) In the fluid surrounding the DNA molecule are free-floating nucleotides; A,C,T,G

b) The free-floating nucleotides move in and bond to the bases that had been
unzipped.

c) Special enzymes bond the new bases to the original bases.

3. End Result

a) This process continues until the entire DNA molecule has been unzipped and
replicated.

b) 2 molecules of DNA are produced; each new molecule has one strand from the
original DNA and one brand new strand.