STRUCTURE

and
DNA
REPLICATION
PAGDATOON, RIZHA C.
PEAMANTE, KEYSEAN M.
AAPD2F

Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid

DNA STRUCTURE
DNA usually exists as a doublestranded structure, with both strands
coiled together to form the
characteristic double-helix.
Each single strand of DNA is a chain
of four types of nucleotides having
the bases:
Adenine
Cytosine
Guanine
Thymine

A nucleotide is a mono-, di-, or

triphosphate
deoxyribonucleoside; that is, a
deoxyribose sugar is attached to
one, two, or three phosphates.

Chemical interaction of these

nucleotides forms phosphodiester
linkages, creating the phosphatedeoxyribose backbone of the DNA
double helix with the bases
pointing inward.

DNA BACKBONE

Nucleotides (bases) are matched

between strands through
hydrogen bonds to form base
pairs. Adenine pairs with thymine
and cytosine pairs with guanine

DNA strands have a directionality, and

the different ends of a single strand are
called the
"3' (three-prime) end" and the "5' (fiveprime) end" with the direction of the
naming going 5 prime to the 3 prime
region.
The strands of the helix are anti-parallel
with one being 5 prime to 3 then the
opposite
strand 3 prime to 5.
These terms refer to the carbon atom in
deoxyribose to which the next phosphate
in the chain attaches. Directionality has
consequences in DNA synthesis, because

The pairing of bases in DNA through

hydrogen bonding means that the
information contained within each strand
is redundant. The nucleotides on a
single strand can be used to reconstruct
nucleotides on a newly synthesized
partner
strand.

DNA
Replication

DNA REPLICATION
DNA replication is a biological process
that occurs in all living organisms and
copies their exact DNA. It is the basis for
biological inheritance.

The first major step for theDNA

Replicationto take place is the breaking
of hydrogen bonds between bases of the
two antiparallel strands.
The unwounding of the two strands is the
starting point. The splitting happens in
places of the chains which are rich in A-T.
That is because there are only two bonds
between Adenine and Thymine (there are
three hydrogen bonds between Cytosine
and Guanine).
Helicaseis the enzyme that splits the
two strands. The structure that is created
is known as "Replication Fork".

In order for DNA replication to begin, the

double stranded DNA helix must must first be
opened. The sites where this process first
occurs are called replication origins.
Helicase unwinds the two single strands

Single-Strand Binding
Proteins
Single-Strand
DNA
Binding
Proteins, SSB for short, work to
bind individuals strands in a DNA
double stranded helix and aid the
helicases in opening it up into
single
strands.
They
are
particularly useful in stabilizing
the
unwound
single-stranded
formation.

Replication Fork
The replication fork is a structure that
forms within the nucleus during DNA
replication. It is created by helicases,
which break the hydrogen bonds holding
the two DNA strands together. The
resulting structure has two branching
"prongs", each one made up of a single
strand of DNA.
These two strands serve as the template
for the leading and lagging strands,
which will be created as DNA polymerase
matches complementary nucleotides to
the templates; The templates may be

One of the most importantsteps of

DNA Replicationis the binding ofRNA
Primasein the initiation point of the
3'-5' parent chain.
RNA
Primasecan
attract
RNA
nucleotides which bind to the DNA
nucleotides of the 3'-5' strand due to
the hydrogen bonds between the
bases. RNA nucleotides are the
primers (starters) for the binding of
DNA nucleotides.

RNA PRIMASE
RNA Primase
lays down the
RNA primers so
that the
Polymerase III
can get to work
or can function.

Theelongationprocess is
different for the 5'-3' and 3'-5'
template. a)5'-3' Template: The
3'-5' proceeding daughter strand
-that uses a5'-3' template- is
calledleading
strandbecauseDNA
Polymerase IIIcan "read" the
template and continuously adds
nucleotides (complementary to
the nucleotides of the template,
for example Adenine opposite to
Thymine etc).

The leading strand

requires fewer steps
and
therefore
is
synthesized
the
quickest.
Once
a
RNA primer has been
laid
down
by
Primase, the DNA
Polymerase III can
build
the
second
strand continuously
and in the same
direction that the
double helix is being
opened. To complete
the process, DNA
Polymerase
I
replaces the RNA
Primer with DNA.

3'-5'Template: The3'-5'
templatecannot be "read" by DNA
Polymerase III. The replication of this
template is complicated and the new
strand is calledlagging strand. In the
lagging strand the RNA Primase adds
more RNA Primers.DNA polymerase
IIIreads the template and lengthens the
bursts. The gap between two RNA
primers is called "Okazaki
Fragments".
The RNA Primers are necessary for DNA
Polymerase III to bind Nucleotides to the
3' end of them. The daughter strand is
elongated with the binding of more DNA

In the synthesis of the lagging strand,

the helix uncoiling occurs in the opposite
direction to w/c Polymerase III works. The
process therefore has to be done in
pieces, called Okazaki Fragments.

In the lagging strand theDNA Pol

I-exonucleasereads
the
fragments and removes the RNA
Primers. The gaps are closed with
the action of DNA Polymerase
which
adds
complementary
nucleotides to the gaps and DNA
Ligase which acts as a glue to
attach the phosphate to the sugar
by
forming
phosphodiester
bond.

Each new double helix is consisted of one old and

one new chain. This is what we callsemiconservative
replication.

The total mechanism requires a cycle of repeating steps that

include:
1) Creation of RNA Primers (Primase)
2) Synthesizing a short segment of DNA between the
primers (Polymerase III)
3) Replacing the RNA primer with DNA (Polymerase I) and
finally

The laststep of DNA Replicationis

theTermination. This process happens
when the DNA Polymerase reaches to an
end of the strands. We can easily
understand that in the last section of the
lagging strand, when the RNA primer is
removed, it is not possible for the DNA
Polymerase to seal the gap (because there
is no primer). So, the end of the parental
strand where the last primer binds isn't
replicated.
These
ends
of
linear
(chromosomal) DNA consists of noncoding
DNA that contains repeat sequences and
are calledtelomeres. As a result, a part of
the telomere is removed in every cycle of
DNA Replication.

The DNA Replication is not completed before

amechanism of repairfixes possible errors
caused during the replication. Enzymes
likenucleasesremove the wrong nucleotides
and the DNA Polymerase fills the gaps.

END OF
PRESENTATION
PAGDATOON, RIZHA
C.
PEAMANTE,
KEYSEAN M.