DNA: Structure, Function and Discovery

DNA: Structure, Function and Discovery

Nucleic acids are the organic materials present in all organisms in the form of DNA or RNA.
These nucleic acids are formed by the combination of nitrogenous bases, sugar molecules and
phosphate groups that are linked by different bonds in a series of sequences. The DNA structure
defines the basic genetic makeup of our body. In fact, it defines the genetic makeup of nearly all
life on earth.

What is DNA?
“DNA is a group of molecules that is responsible for carrying and transmitting
the hereditary materials or the genetic instructions from parents to offsprings.”

This is also true for viruses, as most of these entities have either RNA or DNA as their genetic
material. For instance, some viruses may have RNA as their genetic material, while others have
DNA as the genetic material. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) contains RNA, which
is then converted into DNA after attaching itself to the host cell.
Apart from being responsible for the inheritance of genetic information in all living beings, DNA
also plays a crucial role in the production of proteins. Nuclear DNA is the DNA contained within
the nucleus of every cell in a eukaryotic organism. It codes for the majority of the organism’s
genomes while the mitochondrial DNA and plastid DNA handles the rest.
The DNA present in the mitochondria of the cell is termed mitochondrial DNA. It is inherited
from the mother to the child. In humans, there are approximately 16,000 base pairs of
mitochondrial DNA. Similarly, plastids have their own DNA, and they play an essential role in
photosynthesis.

Full-Form of DNA
DNA is known as Deoxyribonucleic Acid. It is an organic compound that has a unique molecular
structure. It is found in all prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells.

DNA Types
There are three different DNA types:
 A-DNA: It is a right-handed double helix similar to the B-DNA form. Dehydrated DNA
takes an A form that protects the DNA during extreme conditions such as desiccation.
Protein binding also removes the solvent from DNA, and the DNA takes an A form.
 B-DNA: This is the most common DNA conformation and is a right-handed helix. The
majority of DNA has a B type conformation under normal physiological conditions.

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL LAB TECHNOLOGY

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 DNA: Structure, Function and Discovery

 Z-DNA: Z-DNA is a left-handed DNA where the double helix winds to the left in a zig-
zag pattern. It was discovered by Andres Wang and Alexander Rich. It is found ahead of
the start site of a gene and hence, is believed to play some role in gene regulation.

Who Discovered DNA?

DNA was first recognized and identified by the Swiss biologist Johannes Friedrich Miescher in
1869 during his research on white blood cells.

The double helix structure of a DNA molecule was later discovered through the experimental
data by James Watson and Francis Crick. Finally, it was proved that DNA is responsible for
storing genetic information in living organisms.

DNA Diagram
The following diagram explains the DNA structure representing the different parts of the DNA.
DNA comprises a sugar-phosphate backbone and the nucleotide bases (guanine, cytosine,
adenine and thymine).

DNA Structure
The DNA structure can be thought of as a twisted ladder. This structure is described as a double-
helix, as illustrated in the figure above. It is a nucleic acid, and all nucleic acids are made up of
nucleotides. The DNA molecule is composed of units called nucleotides, and each nucleotide is
composed of three different components such as sugar, phosphate groups and nitrogen bases.

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL LAB TECHNOLOGY

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 DNA: Structure, Function and Discovery

The basic building blocks of DNA are nucleotides, which are composed of a sugar group, a
phosphate group, and a nitrogen base. The sugar and phosphate groups link the nucleotides
together to form each strand of DNA. Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Guanine (G) and Cytosine (C)
are four types of nitrogen bases.
These 4 Nitrogenous bases pair together in the following way: A with T, and C with G. These
base pairs are essential for the DNA’s double helix structure, which resembles a twisted ladder.
The order of the nitrogenous bases determines the genetic code or the DNA’s instructions.

Components of DNA Structure

Among the three components of DNA structure, sugar is the one which forms the backbone of
the DNA molecule. It is also called deoxyribose. The nitrogenous bases of the opposite strands
form hydrogen bonds, forming a ladder-like structure.

DNA Structure Backbone

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL LAB TECHNOLOGY

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 DNA: Structure, Function and Discovery

The DNA molecule consists of 4 nitrogen bases, namely adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C)
and Guanine (G), which ultimately form the structure of a nucleotide. The A and G are purines,
and the C and T are pyrimidines.
The two strands of DNA run in opposite directions. These strands are held together by the
hydrogen bond that is present between the two complementary bases. The strands are helically
twisted, where each strand forms a right-handed coil, and ten nucleotides make up a single turn.
The pitch of each helix is 3.4 nm. Hence, the distance between two consecutive base pairs (i.e.,
hydrogen-bonded bases of the opposite strands) is 0.34 nm.

The DNA coils up, forming chromosomes, and each chromosome has a single molecule of DNA
in it. Overall, human beings have around twenty-three pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus of
cells. DNA also plays an essential role in the process of cell division.

Chargaff’s Rule
Erwin Chargaff, a biochemist, discovered that the number of nitrogenous bases in the
DNA was present in equal quantities.
1. The base composition of DNA generally varies from one species to another.
2. DNA specimens isolated from different tissues of the same species have the same base
composition.
3. The base composition of DNA in a given species does not change with an organism’s
age, nutritional state, or changing environment.
4. In all cellular DNAs, regardless of the species, the number of adenosine residues is equal
to the number of thymidine residues (that is, A = T), and the number of guanosine
residues is equal to the number of cytidine residues (G = C). From these relationships it
follows that the sum of the purine residues equals the sum of the pyrimidine residues; that
is,
A + G = T + C. (Pu = Py)
5. These quantitative relationships, are called Chargaff’s rule

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL LAB TECHNOLOGY

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 DNA: Structure, Function and Discovery

The Watson–Crick Model

Watson and Crick published their analysis of DNA structure in 1953. By building models based
on the above-mentioned parameters, they arrived at the double-helical form of DNA. This model
has the following major features:
1. DNA consists of two strands of polynucleotides. These two long polynucleotide chains
are coiled around a central axis, forming a right handed double helix (clockwise
turning).
2. The two chains are antiparallel; that is, their 5’-P and 3’-OH ends run in opposite
directions.
3. Sugar – phosphate backbone lies on the outer side. The bases of both chains are flat
structures lying perpendicular to the axis; they are “stacked” on one another, 3.4 Å (0.34
nm) apart, on the inside of the double helix.
4. The nitrogenous bases of opposite chains are paired as the result of the formation of
hydrogen bonds; in DNA, only A-T and C-G pairs occur. (Watson and Crick pairing).
These bases are complementary bases and strands are complementary strands. Hydrogen
bonds between the bases (A-T and G-C) of the two strands and the base stacking
interactions hold the two strands together.
5. Each complete turn of the helix is 34 Å (3.4 nm) long; thus, each turn of the helix is the
length of a series of 10 base pairs. 6. A larger major groove alternating with a smaller
minor groove winds along the length of the molecule. 7. The double helix has a diameter
of 20 Å (2.0 nm).

DNA Function
DNA is the genetic material which carries all the hereditary information. Genes are the small
segments of DNA, consisting mostly of 250 – 2 million base pairs. A gene code for a
polypeptide molecule, where three nitrogenous bases sequence stands for one amino acid.
Polypeptide chains are further folded in secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures to form
different proteins. As every organism contains many genes in its DNA, different types of
proteins can be formed. Proteins are the main functional and structural molecules in most
organisms. Apart from storing genetic information, DNA is involved in:
 Replication process: Transferring the genetic information from one cell to its daughters
and from one generation to the next and equal distribution of DNA during the cell
division
 Mutations: The changes which occur in the DNA sequences
 Transcription
 Cellular Metabolism

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL LAB TECHNOLOGY

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 DNA: Structure, Function and Discovery

 DNA Fingerprinting
 Gene Therapy

Why DNA is called a Polynucleotide Molecule?

The DNA is called a polynucleotide because the DNA molecule is composed of nucleotides –
deoxyadenylate (A) deoxyguanylate (G) deoxycytidylate (C) and deoxythymidylate
(T), which are combined to create long chains called a polynucleotide. As per the DNA structure,
the DNA consists of two chains of polynucleotides.

Nitrogenous bases
 The nitrogenous base is either a purine or a pyrimidine.
 There are five major bases found in cells. The derivatives of purine are called adenine
and guanine, and the derivatives of pyrimidine are called thymine, cytosine and uracil.
 Purines include adenine and guanine and have two rings.
 Adenine has an ammonia group on its rings, whereas guanine has a ketone group.
 Pyrimidines include cytosine, thiamine, and uracil and have one ring.
 Thymine (found in DNA) and uracil (found in RNA) are similar in that they both have
ketone groups, but thymine has an extra methyl group on its ring.
 Bonds between guanine and cytosine (three hydrogen bonds) are stronger than bonds
between adenine and thymine (two hydrogen bonds).

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL LAB TECHNOLOGY

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 DNA: Structure, Function and Discovery

Nucleotides
A single nucleotide is made up of three components: a nitrogen-containing base, a five-carbon
sugar (pentose), and at least one phosphate group with all three joined, a nucleotide is also
termed a “nucleoside phosphate”.

Nucleosides
 While a nucleotide is composed of a nucleobase, a five-carbon sugar, and one or more
phosphate groups, a nucleoside has only a nitrogenous base and a five-carbon sugar.
 In a nucleoside, the base is bound to either ribose or deoxyribose via a beta-glycosidic
linkage at 1’ position.
 Examples of nucleosides include cytidine, uridine, adenosine, guanosine, thymidine and
inosine.

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL LAB TECHNOLOGY

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 DNA: Structure, Function and Discovery

DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL LAB TECHNOLOGY

ABBOTTABAD UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY