Basic Microbial genetics

Department of microbiology

Jahangirnagar university

Descriptive syllabus

1. Mendel’s classical work ,probability basis of 3 : 1 ration in a monohybrid cross. How

in a dihybrid cross independent assortment of genes leads to 50 % recombinant
gametes ? How can this recombinant percentage be less than 50 % ?
2. Experiments that led to identification of DNA as the chemical substance responsible
for biological inheritance .Griffith’s transformation experiments ,Hershey and Chase
experiment with the life cycle of bacteriophage
3. Early experimental evidence suggesting that DNA is likely to be a duplex structure.
Polarity of a nucleotide strand. Meselson and Stahl experiment
4. DNA denaturation and melting point. Renaturation kinetics of DNA single strands in
prokaryotes and eukaryotes. How the presence of highly repititive DNA fraction is
inferred from renaturation kinetics ?
5. Important aspects of duplex DNA replication – the leading strand and lagging strand
synthesis with a DNA polymerase that can only synthesize in one direction 5 → 3
,Okazaki fragments ,the unwinding problem of the DNA molecule , How unwinding
is achieved without producing super coil and without high speed unwinding ? The
nicking and sealing enzymes
6. Structure of the replication fork with various components and their function
7. The lac operon and the regulatory region upstream such as promoter with its
important sites and the operators (Palindrome symmetry)
8. Synthesis of RNA ,structure of RNA polymerase ,its function and diversity (Promoter
selectivity )
9. RNA processing -7mG capping ,mechanism of intron removal by lariate formation
,ribozyme
10. Translation –Initiation complex ,peptide bond formation and translocation
,termination and polyribosome
11. Genetic code determination through in vitro ,cell free protein synthesis system
,mutation in the coding sequence – missense ,non-sense and frame shift mutation
,suppressor mutation
DNA polymerase adds 500-10000 bases per seconds

RNA polymerase adds 50 bases per seconds

Ribosome can put 40 amino acids second in a growing polypeptide

Wonder : E coli chromosome contain 4 105 bases .How many spiral would there be in the

chromosome ? If the chromosome replicates in 30 minute at 37 C at high speed it has to

unwind to complete replication ? Is it thermodynamically possible ? ……………………