Chapter 2

DNA: The Genetic Material

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education Inc.

 Gregor

Mendel
prior to Mendel

Factors of heredity Seeds of heredity

Scientists

Key

characteristics of the genetic material

Contain a stable form of the information about the cell structure, function, development, and reproduction of an organism Accurate replication Capable of change

 Friedrich

Miescher (1869)

Discovery of nucleic acid Isolation of a substance from pus which contained CHONP Later found in the nuclei of all biological samples studied Called nuclein

ca.

1900
Composed of protein and nucleic acids Are the molecules of heredity Which of these is the molecule of heredity?

Discovery of chromosomes

Streptococcus pneumoniae

 Conclusion

Somehow interaction among the two strains allowed for the transformation Genetic material from the S strain incorporated into de the genetic material of the R strain

Transforming principle

It might be protein (supposition)

 Used

IIIS and IIR bacteria Lysed IIIS and made extracts Incubated extracts with IIR bacteria and plated Transformation occurred to IIIS bacteria Conclusion?

 Used

IIIS and IIR bacteria Lysed IIIS and made extracts Incubated extracts with enzymes to degrade each one of the macromolecules Incubated treated extracts with IIR bacteria and plated Transformation occurred to IIIS bacteria only when DNA was not degraded Conclusion?

 Only

viruses

 Polymers

vs. monomers

 Helical

structure Two regularities

0.34 nm 3.4 nm

nm diameter

 Types

of RNA

mRNA tRNA rRNA snRNA miRNA

Configuration

of RNA

ssRNA dsRNA

 Viral

genomes Prokaryotic genomes Eukaryotic genomes

 DNA

Double stranded or single stranded or mixture Circular or linear Single or fragmented

RNA

Double stranded or single stranded Circular or linear Single or fragmented

 Most

Single Double stranded Circular Organized in a nucleoid Multiple Linear or circular

Some

Smaller

autonomously-replicating chromosomes not essential to the life of the cell

Plasmids

Borrelia burgdorferi

0.91 Mb linear chromosome 17 plasmids some linear, some circular with a combined size of 0.53 Mb

Rhizobium radiobacter

3 Mb circular chromosome 2.1 Mb linear chromosome

Methanococcus jannaschii
1.66 Mb circular chromosome 58 kb & 16 kb circular plasmids

Archaeoglobus fulgidus

Single 2.2 Mb circular chromosome Single 4.6 Mb circular chromosome

Escherichia coli

Topoisomerases

 Multiple
Linear Terms

Karyotype complete set of metaphase chromosomes in a eukaryotic cell C-value amount of DNA in the haploid genome

Species specific

Chromosomes

in the cell cycle

 Chromatin

stainable material in the cell

nucleus

DNA Protein

Histones H1, H2A, H2B, H3, H4 Non-histones

 Solenoid

model Zigzag model

Figure 4-32 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

Figure 4-31 Molecular Biology of the Cell ( Garland Science 2008)

 Euchromatin

Actively transcribed Devoid of repetitive sequences

Heterochromatin

transcriptionally inactive

Constitutive

Identical positions in both homologs and consists mainly of repetitive sequences Centromeres, telomeres Differs depending of the stage and can be different in different homologs Represents condensed euchromatin

Facultative

 Centromere

Telomere

CEN region in yeast S. cerevisiae Centromeres in individual chromosomes are different

100 1000 copies Simple telomeric sequences

Repetitive sequences

112 120 bp
CDEII 78 86 bp > 90% A-T CDEI 8 bp RTCACRTG CDEIII 26 bp A-T rich

Tandemly repeated DNA sequences Tetrahymena 5TTGGGG-3 Homo sapiens 5TTAGGG-3

Telomere-associated sequences

 Unique-sequence

DNA

One to few copies in the genome All of the genome in prokaryotes and some present in eukaryotes (55-60% in humans) Most protein-coding gene regions

Moderately

repetitive DNA

Few to 105 copies in the genome Present in eukaryotes

Highly

repetitive DNA

105 to 107 copies in the genome Present in eukaryotes

 Dispersed

repeated DNA

Long-interspersed elements (LINEs)

1000 7000 bp

Short-interspersed elements

100 400 bp (SINEs)

Tandemly

repeated DNA

1 10 bp