Unit 6 DNA and Protein Synthesis

History of DNA: 1. Rosalind Franklin (1952) - X-ray photo of DNA. 2. Watson and Crick (1953) - described the double helical structure of DNA molecule

DNA is Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid which is made up of Deoxyribose sugar. Double Helix: DNA consists of two strands that are arranged into a ladder-like structure called a Double Helix. The two strands are anti-parallel Nucleotides: Each strand of DNA is made up of millions of tiny subunits called Nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of: a phosphate group, a Pentose sugar and a Nitrogenous base

 The phosphate and sugar form the backbone of the DNA molecule Nitrogenous bases: There are four types of nitrogenous bases namely Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C) and Guanine (G). Purines: Purines are nitrogenous bases made of two rings of carbon and nitrogen atoms. Adenine and Guanine are known as Purines Pyrimidines: Pyrimidines are nitrogenous bases made of one ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms. Thymine and Cytosine are known as Pyrimidines

Chargaffs rule of base pairing: Adenine base pairs with Thymine with a double hydrogen bond. Guanine base pairs with Cytosine with a triple hydrogen bond. Complementary base pairing: The order of the bases in one strand determines the order of the bases in the other strand. Example: A G G C T C TCCGAG

Codons: Codon contains three nitrogenous bases which are arranged together that codes for a single amino acid. Example for codons: A G G - C T C - A A G - T C C - T A G

DNA Replication:

Definition: DNA Replication is the process of formation of new DNA strand with the help of DNA polymerase enzyme. First the double stranded DNA unzip with the help of enzyme Two new DNA strands are produced complementary to the old strands It is called semi-conservative replication because each DNA molecule is half old and half new

RNA:

o RNA is Ribose Nucleic Acid made up of Ribose sugar. In RNA, Uracil replaces the base Thymine o It has only Single stranded helix

Types of RNA: There are 3 types of RNA mRNA, tRNA, rRNA 1. Messenger RNA (mRNA) carry copies from DNA to rest of cell. 2. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) it is on the ribosomes where proteins are assembled. 3. Transfer RNA (tRNA) transfers each amino acid to the ribosome according to the coded messages in mRNA.

Protein Synthesis
There are two steps in protein synthesis 1. Transcription and 2. Translation

1. Transcription
Definition - The formation of mRNA from DNA with the help of RNA polymerase enzyme. Transcription occurs in nucleus During transcription RNA polymerase moves along the DNA strand in 3'-5' direction to synthesize the mRNA

2. Translation
Definition - The formation of Protein from mRNA with the help of tRNA Translation occurs in cytoplasm mRNA Messenger RNA contains codons which code for amino acids. Example: If the codons are CCU AGC GGA CUU The amino acids are Proline Serine Glycine Leucine Genetic code is the universal code given for amino acid tRNA - Transfer RNA carries amino acid and attach to the codons present in mRNA through its own anticodons rRNA - Ribosome - contains 50% proteins and 50% RNA known as rRNA for protein synthesis