The Genetic Material-1

The Genetic Material
Genetic Material
Nucleic Acids
-Nucleic acids contain
instructions that cells
need to carry out all the
functions of life.
Nucleic acid – very large

organic molecules made
up of carbon, oxygen,
hydrogen, nitrogen, and
phosphorus.
Types of Nucleic Acid :
1. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)-
the genetic material that
carries information about an
organism. It is passed from
parent to offspring.
-DNA directs all cellular
activities and is ONLY found in
the nucleus of a cell.
2. RNA (ribonucleic acid) – a
nucleic acid found in the
nucleus and cytoplasm of
cells that plays an important
role in the production of
proteins.
Nucleotides & Genetic
Organization
-Nucleic acids are made up of nucleotides.
Nucleotides have 3 basic parts :
1. A 5-carbon sugar.
2. A phosphate group.
3. A nitrogenous (nitrogen-containing) base.
Levels of genetic organization :
Nucleotide Gene DNA Chromosomes Genome

smallest code for made tightly coiled the
entire
building our traits of many strands of DNA genetic
block of genes make-up of
a gene an
organism
Composition of DNA
Major parts of a DNA nucleotide :
1. A 5-carbon sugar called deoxyribose.
2. Phosphates
3. Four different nitrogenous bases (rungs of the
ladder) :
a. Adenine (A)
b. Thymine (T)
c. Guanine (G)
d. Cytosine (C)
Nitrogen
Bases
Purines Pyrimidines
Adenine Guanine Thymine Cytosine

Identifying the Genetic Material
 Experiments of Griffith and Avery yielded
results that suggested DNA was genetic
material (1944)
 Hershey & Chase
used the
bacteriophage T2 and
radioactive labels to
show that virus genes
are made of DNA, not
protein (1952)
 DNA stores information that tells cells which
proteins to make and when to make them
A T G C
Human 30 30 19 19
Plant 27 27 22 22
Virus 21 22 28 27
 DNA forms a spiral

ladder  Double Helix
 Double helix is held
together by weak
Hydrogen bonds
 Erwin Chargaff
Discovery Chargaff’s
Rule A=T, G=C
Rosalin Franklin
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic Acid
Pairing the Nitrogenous Bases in DNA
*Adenine always pairs
(matches up) with thymine
and guanine always pairs
(is complementary to) with
cytosine.
-These nitrogenous bases
make up four different
possible nucleotides in
DNA.
-Many nucleotides (basic
unit of nucleic acids)
placed together make one
DNA molecule.
Structure of DNA
James Watson & Francis Crick –
American biologist & British
physicist who built the first
accurate structural model of
DNA
(Nobel Prize in 1962).
-Watson & Crick’s model of DNA

was a double helix (twisted
ladder), in which 2 strands
were
wound around each other.
Structure of DNA con’t.
-The outside/sides of the
ladder are made of
deoxyribose sugar and
phosphates.
-The rungs of the ladder

are the nitrogenous bases
(connect to deoxyribose
sugar in the outside/side
of the ladder).
Identifying Base Pairs
***DNA strands are complimentary to one another (match up
with each other). A & T and G & C ***
Given the following sequences of DNA, find the

complementary strands :
a. AGT b. CAG
TCA GTC
c. CTT d. AGC
GAA TCG
DNA Replication
*Before cells divide, they
make copies of their DNA.
-DNA Replication ensures
that each daughter cell will
have all of the genetic
information it needs to
carry
out its activities.
-DNA replication is
semiconservative, meaning
that when DNA copies, each
new strand has ½ of the
original strand.
Major steps in DNA Replication :
1. DNA unwinds (untwists) exposing the
nitrogenous bases.
2. DNA unzips – weak hydrogen bonds
between nitrogenous bases break.
*Hydrogen bonds are the weakest type
of bond that occurs in molecules.
3. New complimentary strands form –
nitrogenous bases floating in the
nucleus of the cell pair up with the
bases
on each half of the DNA molecule.
4. Two new DNA molecules that are
exactly alike are formed.
-Both new strands are identical to the
original strand of DNA.
The Function of Genes in DNA
*Proteins determine the size,
shape, and many other traits
of an organism, ex : eye
color, hair color, type of
hairline, etc.
-Each gene in a DNA
molecule codes for the
production of a particular
protein.
Gene – a small portion of the
DNA molecule that codes for
a particular trait/protein.
Order of Nitrogenous Bases
-The order of the nitrogenous
bases along a gene forms a
genetic code that specifies what
type of protein will be produced.
-The order of the nitrogenous

bases tells the cell which amino
acids to put together to make a
protein. If one amino acid is
changed or out of place, a
different protein is made.
-Since DNA cannot leave the

nucleus to make proteins at the
ribosomes, RNA directs protein
synthesis.
The secrets of the sequencehttp
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
sf0YXnAFBs8
RNA (ribonucleic acid)
Major parts of an RNA nucleotide :
1. Ribose sugar (a 5-carbon sugar)
2. Phosphates
3. Four different nitrogenous
bases :
a. Adenine (A)
b. Uracil (U)
c. Cytosine (C)
d. Guanine (G)
How RNA makes a protein
-There are 3 major types of RNA.
1. mRNA – (messenger RNA)

carries information from the
nucleus to the rest of the cell.
2. tRNA – (transfer RNA)

transfers amino acids to
ribosomes during protein
synthesis.
3. rRNA – (ribosomal RNA)

makes
up a major part of ribosomes.
When making
proteins :
1. mRNA carries DNA’s
message to the
ribosomes (site of
protein synthesis)
in the cytoplasm.
2. Ribosomes (like a
decoder ring)
translate (interpret)
the RNA code into a
protein.
V. Differences between DNA and
RNA
1. RNA has uracil and DNA
has thymine.
2. RNA is a single helix and
DNA is a double helix.
3. RNA is very small and
DNA is very large.
4. RNA can travel between
the nucleus and the
cytoplasm, DNA is only in
the nucleus.
5. RNA has ribose sugar and
DNA has deoxyribose.
Given the following sequences of DNA,
find the matching RNA strands :
a. AGC b. AAC
UCG UUG
c. GAA d. ATC
CUU UAG
Chromosomes
Chromosomes are made of long strands of
DNA nucleotides wrapped around histone proteins.
1. The smallest of the 46 human chromosomes
contains 30 million (that’s 30,000,000) base pairs.
2. There is 1 meter of DNA in each typical cell nucleus
in the human body
3. Tightly wrapped histones and DNA form
Chromatin while the cell is in interphase,
chromosomes when it is dividing.
Chromosome Nucleosome
Chromatin
DNA
generally exists as double
a long coiled helix
thread, but during
mitosis/meiosis it Coils
Supercoils
becomes even
more coiled, this is
what is seen during
Prophase through
Anaphase and is
called a
chromosome Histones
DNA Replication
Before a cell divides, it duplicates its DNA.
This process is called replication and it is controlled
by a series of enzymes.
1. Each strand of DNA has all the information to create

the other strand by “base pairing.”
2. DNA strands are Complementary (or opposites) if

the two strands are separated, they can recreate
their own complementary strand.
Original
New Strand
DNA
Strand Polymerase
Process of DNA Replication:
 1. Enzymes “unzip” a molecule of DNA by
breaking the hydrogen bonds between
base pairs.
 2. The two strands unwind and each

becomes a template for the other strand.
 3. New nucleotides attach to each of the
strands, forming two identical sets of
DNA!
 4. DNA Polymerase- one of the enzymes
involved in replication, adds the new
bases (nucleotides) and proof-reads each
strand so there are very few mistakes.
RNA
 The main role of RNA is to aid in Protein
Synthesis
 RNA is similar to DNA in that both are

made of nucleotides
RNA is different than DNA:
 Sugar backbone in RNA is Ribose (not
Deoxyribose)
 RNA is single stranded while DNA is double
stranded
 RNA contains Uracil in place of Thymine.
(U in place of T)
 DNA always stays in the nucleus, while RNA can
be found in the nucleus and cytoplasm.
Types of RNA
Messenger RNA (mRNA)
 The role of mRNA is to carry instructions for
making proteins from DNA to Ribosomes.
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
 One of the building blocks of Ribosomes
Transfer RNA (tRNA)

 Transfers amino acids to ribosomes in the
specific order that mRNA states in order to make
a specific protein.
Transcription
 Transcription is the process of making
RNA molecules from DNA molecules.
 Transcription requires the enzyme
RNA Polymerase.
A Look at Transcription
Adenine (DNA and RNA)
Cytosine (DNA and RNA)
Guanine(DNA and RNA)
Thymine (DNA only)
Uracil (RNA only)
The Genetic Code &
Protein Synthesis
1. Proteins are made by joining long chains of
amino acids together to form polypeptides.
a. There are a total of 20 different
amino acids.
b. Different proteins are made by
different combinations and numbers of
these amino acids.
c. These amino acids are assembled
using the Genetic code.
More on Protein Synthesis
RNA contains 4 different bases A, U, C, and

G. The order of these subunits is the
Genetic code.
a. The genetic code is read three letters at a
time, this is called a “Codon.”
b. Each codon instructs for one amino acid
to be built into a chain.
Example:
 RNA: UCGCACGGU is read as a series of
three codons:
UCG-CAC-GGU
 These different codons represent three
different amino acids.
UCG CAC GGU
Serine - Histadine - Glycine
 The codons
for the
specific amino
acids are
listed using
this table:
Translation
 The process
of a cell using
mRNA and
ribosomes to
make proteins
is translation
How translation takes place
Protein
Chain
Ribosome
Amino tRNA
acid
tRNA
mRNA
mRNA
ribosome
Putting it all together
 DNA  RNA  Proteins  Traits
Transcription Translation
•This simple phrase links all the important

genetic components together and is the basis
for the science of molecular biology
Mutations
 Mutations are mistakes cells make when

copying DNA.
 The most common type of mutation is a
Point Mutation, this is when one nucleotide
is replaced by another.
 These mutations sometimes alter the RNA
molecules transcribed and the proteins
translated by the ribosomes.
 This type of mutation will take place on a
piece of DNA that codes for a protein and will
be known as a gene mutation
Chromosomal Mutations
 Changes in the number or structure of the

chromosomes themselves
Types of Chromosomal
Mutations
Deletion
Duplication
Inversion
Translocation

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The Genetic Material

Nucleic acid – very large

Nucleotide Gene DNA Chromosomes Genome

Adenine Guanine Thymine Cytosine

 DNA forms a spiral

-Watson & Crick’s model of DNA

-The rungs of the ladder

Given the following sequences of DNA, find the

-The order of the nitrogenous

-Since DNA cannot leave the

1. mRNA – (messenger RNA)

2. tRNA – (transfer RNA)

3. rRNA – (ribosomal RNA)

1. Each strand of DNA has all the information to create

2. DNA strands are Complementary (or opposites) if

 2. The two strands unwind and each

 RNA is similar to DNA in that both are

Transfer RNA (tRNA)

RNA contains 4 different bases A, U, C, and

•This simple phrase links all the important

 Mutations are mistakes cells make when

 Changes in the number or structure of the

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