Ogan Gurel, MD

Biology 301
Lecture # 8
Roosevelt University

Biology 301
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Fall 2002

Lecture # 8: Gene Expression I

Transcription
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8
Roosevelt University

Overall outline
 DNA to Protein
 RNA Transcription
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8
Roosevelt University

DNA to Protein
 The Central Dogma
 Genotype & Phenotype
 Beadle & Tatum: one gene – one enzyme hypothesis
 Flow of information in prokaryotes & eukaryotes
 DNA to protein: triplet code
 The dictionary of the genetic code
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

The Central Dogma

Roosevelt University
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

Genotype & Phenotype

Roosevelt University

• Archibald Garrod (1909) and “inborn errors of metabolism”

(e.g. alkaptonuria)

• Beadle & Tatum (1930s) studied eye color in Drosophila

•Inherited instructions in DNA direct protein synthesis. Thus,

the proteins are the links between genotype and phenotype,
since proteins are directly involved in the expression of
specific phenotypic traits
Beadle & Tatum:
Ogan Gurel, MD

one gene – one enzyme Biology 301

Lecture # 8
Roosevelt University

hypothesis

• One gene – one polypeptide hypothesis

• One gene – one RNA transcript hypothesis
 Ogan Gurel, MD

Flow of information in Biology 301

Lecture # 8
Roosevelt University

prokaryotes & eukaryotes

 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

DNA to protein: triplet code

Roosevelt University
The dictionary of the genetic
Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8
Roosevelt University

code

• Nirenberg (NIH) &

Khorana (MIT) – early
1960s

• UUU -> phenylalanine

• Redundancy
• no ambiguity
• Early evolution
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8
Roosevelt University

RNA Transcription
(& processing)
 Overview of transcription
 Stages of transcription
 Transcription initiation
 Transcription elongation
 Transcription termination
 RNA processing
 RNA splicing
 snRNPs and spliceosomes in mRNA splicing
 DNA > RNA > Protein (revisited)
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

Overview of transcription
Roosevelt University
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

Stages of transcription
Roosevelt University
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

Transcription initiation
Roosevelt University
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

Transcription elongation
Roosevelt University
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

Transcription termination
Roosevelt University

• Poly-A tail (AAUAAA in eukaryotes)

• Relatively easy to unhybridize

• Prokaryotes: ready for translation immediately

• Eukaryotes: pre-mRNA must first be processed
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

RNA processing
Roosevelt University

• Involves modifications at the 5’ and 3’ ends

• Followed in eukaryotes by RNA splicing which

involves modification of the internal mRNA
sequence
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

RNA splicing
Roosevelt University
 Ogan Gurel, MD

snRNPs and spliceosomes in Biology 301

Lecture # 8
Roosevelt University

mRNA splicing

• Involved in the processing

of mRNA destined for
ultimate translation into
protein
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8

Ribozymes
Roosevelt University

• RNA molecules that can catalzye reactions by

breaking & forming covalent bonds.

• Self-splicing RNA

• Processing of “mRNA” that leads to tRNA and rRNA

(not ultimately to proteins)
 Ogan Gurel, MD
Biology 301
Lecture # 8
Roosevelt University

DNA > RNA > Protein (revisited)