CENTRAL DOGMA OF MOLECULAR

BIOLOGY
REVIEW
DNA
RNA
mRNA
tRNA
Codons
Amino acids
Proteins
REVIEW
DNA Components: RNA Components:
Sugar – deoxyribose Sugar – ribose
Base - A, G, C, T Base – A, G, C, U
Phosphate group Phosphate group
Double-stranded Primarily single stranded
Base-pairing rules – A:T Base pairing rules – G:C
& G:C & A:U
TYPES OF RNA
Messenger RNA (mRNA)
Complementary to info in DNA
strand
Variable in length
Contains specific structural info
for the sequence of amino
acids
Processed before using
TYPES OF RNA
Transfer RNA (tRNA)
Multiple varieties, each specific for a
specific amino acid
Relatively small, with a consistent 3-d shape
Specificity for each amino acid is
accomplished by a triplet base-pairing
relationship between codon on mRNA and
anti-codon on tRNA
TYPES OF RNA
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
• combines with protein to form ribosomes
DNA REPLICATION
DNA REPLICATION
Semi-conservative = each one
of the parent DNA strands is
passed to the daughter DNA +
one new strand for each
WHEN AND WHERE DOES DNA REPLICATION TAKE
PLACE?
S
DNA replication takes phase
place in the S phase in the
nucleus of eukaryotes.
G1 interphase G2

Mitosis
-prophase
-metaphase
-anaphase
-telophase
THE PROCESS OF DNA REPLICATION
1. Opening up the DNA helix 1. Initiation
2. Building a primer 2. Elongation
3. Assembling complementary strands 3. Termination
4. Removing the primer
5. Joining the Okazaki fragments
DNA REPLICATION
•As the 2 DNA strands open at the origin, Replication Bubbles form
•Prokaryotes (bacteria) have a single bubble
•Eukaryotic chromosomes have MANY bubbles
OPENING UP THE DOUBLE HELIX
STAGE 1: Initiating replication – binding of initiator proteins
STAGE 2: Unwinding the duplex – helicases (“unwinding” enzymes)
STAGE 3: Stabilizing the single strands – single-strand binding protein
STAGE 4: Relieving the torque generated by unwinding – topoisomerases or gyrases
DNA REPLICATION
•Begins at Origins of Replication
•Two strands open forming Replication Forks (Y-shaped region)
•New strands grow at the forks 3’

Parental DNA Molecule

5’ Replication
Fork
3’

5’
OPENING UP THE DOUBLE HELIX
BUILDING A PRIMER
•New DNA cannot be synthesized on the exposed templates until a
primer is constructed.
•DNA polymerases require 3′ primers to initiate replication.
•The necessary primer is a short stretch of RNA, added by a
specialized RNA polymerase called primase in a multisubunit
complex.
BUILDING A PRIMER
ASSEMBLING THE COMPLEMENTARY STRANDS
•DNA polymerase III then binds to the replication fork.
•Moving in concert down the parental double helix, DNA
polymerase III catalyzes the formation of complementary
sequences on each of the two single strands at the same time.
REMOVING THE PRIMER
The enzyme DNA polymerase I now removes
the RNA primer and fills in the gap, as well as
any gaps between Okazaki fragments.
REPLICATION OF STRANDS
Replication Point of Origin
Fork
JOINING THE OKAZAKI FRAGMENTS
After any gaps between Okazaki fragments are filled in, the
enzyme DNA ligase joins the fragments to the lagging strand.

DNA
Okazaki Fragment Polymerase
RNA
Primer
5’ 3’

3’ 5’
Lagging Strand
ENZYMES IN
DNA
REPLICATION
TRANSCRIPTION
production of an RNA copy of the DNA sequence encoding the
gene
Differs from DNA synthesis in that only one strand of DNA, the
template strand, is used to make mRNA
 Does not need a primer to start
 Can involve multiple RNA polymerases
 Divided into 3 stages
 Initiation
 Elongation
 Termination
TRANSCRIPTION
Only one strand of DNA serves as a template
Anti-sense strand
The complementary strand has a sequence identical to the
RNA sequence.
DESIGNATION OF DNA STRANDS
SALIENT FEATURES OF TRANSCRIPTION
RNA Polymerase
catalyzes the addition of one ribonucleotide at a time,
extending the RNA strand being synthesized in the 5’ to 3’
direction.
Promoter
DNA sequences near the beginning of a gene.
These signal the RNA polymerase to begin transcription
Terminator
sequences within the RNA products,
which signal the RNA polymerase to stop transcriptions
RNA POLYMERASES IN THE TRANSCRIPTION
PROCESS
RNA polymerase I synthesizes rRNA in the nucleolus
RNA polymerase II synthesizes Mrna
RNA polymerase III synthesizes tRNA.
PROMOTER
Promoter is a short sequence that is not itself transcribed
by the polymerase that binds to it.
In eukaryotic DNA, the sequence TATAAA, called the TATA
box.
TRANSCRIPTION PROCESS
INITIATION
The binding of RNA polymerase to the promoter is
the first step in gene transcription.
Once bound to the promoter, the RNA polymerase
begins to unwind the DNA helix.
ELONGATION
Unlike DNA synthesis, a primer is not required.
The region containing the RNA polymerase, DNA, and
growing RNA transcript is called the transcription bubble
because it contains a locally unwound “bubble” of DNA.
TRANSCRIPTION BUBBLE
TERMINATION
At the end of a gene are “stop” sequences that cause the
formation of phosphodiester bonds to cease, the RNADNA
hybrid within the transcription bubble to dissociate, the
RNA polymerase to release the DNA, and the DNA within
the transcription bubble to rewind.
A GC HAIRPIN: STOPS THE TRANSCRIPTION
PRODUCTS OF TRANSCRIPTION
mRNA, tRNA, & rRNA
All products move out of the nucleus and go into the
cytoplasm to be used in protein synthesis

DNA  RNA mRNA

tRNA
rRNA
THE GENETIC CODE
The correlation between
nucleotide sequence (DNA or
RNA) and amino acid sequence
(protein)
Codons: combination of 3
mRNA nucleotides that code for
a specific amino acid
TYPES OF CODONS
64 codons code for 20 amino acids
Thus more than one codon codes for an AA
Start codon: (AUG) starts the process of translation
Stop codons: (UAA, UAG, UGA) ends the process of
translation
TRANSLATION
The process of assembling
polypeptides (proteins) from
nucleotide sequence in mRNA

“Translating” from one language

(nucleotides) into another language
(amino acids)
TRANSLATION
tRNAs are molecular bridges that connect mRNA codons to
the amino acids they encode.
One end of each tRNA has a sequence of three
nucleotides called anticodon, which can bind to specific
mRNA codons.
The other end of tRNA carries the amino acid specified by
the codons.
STEPS OF TRANSLATION
During translation, amino acids are assembled from
information encoded in mRNA
As mRNA codons move through the ribosome, tRNA’s
add specific amino acids to the growing
polypeptide chain.
The process continues until a stop codon is reached
and the newly made protein is released.
INITIATION
The ribosome assembles around the mRNA to be read and
the first tRNA – forming the initiation complex.
ELONGATION
This is the stage where the amino acid chain gets longer.
The mRNA is read one codon at a time, and the amino
acid matching each codon is added to a growing protein
chain.
ELONGATION
Each time a new codon is exposed:
A matching tRNA binds to the codon
The existing amino acid chain (polypeptide) is linked onto the amino acid of
tRNA
The mRNA is shifted one codon over in the ribosome, exposing a new codon
for reading.
TERMINATION
The finished polypeptide chain is released.
It begins when a stop codon enters the ribosome, triggering a
series of events that separate the chain from its tRNA and allow it
to drift out of the ribosome.
SO WHAT IS CENTRAL DOGMA?
The flow from DNA to RNA to Protein
Transcription + Translation = Gene
Expression