Genetics

Nucleotides
Phospha
te

Stays the
same
Varies

Base
Sugar

Nucleotides
O Made up of:
O A Phosphate Group
O Pentose Sugar
O Nitrogenous Base

O Sugar
O Is a deoxyribose - one less oxygen

O Bases can vary- 4 variations

O Adenine
O Thymine

(A)

(T)
O Guanine
(G)
O Cytosine
(C)

Sugar
Phosphate
Backbone

Polynucleotide Strands One

Nucleotid
e

Bond forms between

sugar and phosphate

Polynucleotide Stands
O Many nucleotide join to form

Polynucleotide strands.
O The nucleotides join between the
phosphate group of one and the
sugar of another
O Creates phosphate-sugar
backboneen

Phosphate
Group

Deoxyribose
sugar

Deoxyribose
sugar

Specific Base Pairing

C

G
Bases

Phospha
te Group

Specific Base Pairing

O Two DNA polynucleotides strands join

together by hydrogen bonds

between the bases
O Each base has one particular partner
O A and T (Adenine and Thymine)
O G and C (Guanine and Cytosine)

Causes
O All factors stated previously causes DNAs structure.

Hydrogen
bonding
between
the bases,
keeping
the
strands
coiled
together

Polynucleoti
de strand
with sugar
phosphate
backbone

Base
s

Structure vs. Function

O Double Helix Sturcture
O Makes DNA very stable in the cell. Means

DNA does not break down or damage easily.

O So information is not lost easily
O DNA molecules are long and coiled up
O They are coiled very tightly so a lot of

information can fit into a small cell nucleus

O DNA molecules have a paired structure
O So able to copy itself
O Semi-conservative replication

DNA storage in Eukaryotic

cells
O These cells contain linear DNA

molecules that exist as

chromosomes
O Chromosomes are made up of one
long molecule of DNA
O The molecule is wound to fit in the

nucleus
O It is wound around histone proteins

and coiled further to create the

chromosome structure.

DNA storage in Eukaryotic

cells

DNA wound
around
histone
proteins

DNA

DNA with the

protein is
coiled up
repeatedly

Histone
Proteins

A single
Chromosome

DNA storage in Prokaryotic

cells
O Prokaryotes also carry DNA as

chromosomes- but DNA molecules

are shorter and circular
O Not wound around proteins
O Fit in the cell by supercoiling

DNA storage in Prokaryotic

cells

Coiled
Chromosome
Circular
Chromosome

Supercoiled
to fit into the
cell

Genes
O Sections of DNA
O Found in chromosomes
O Code for proteins
O Contain instructions to make them

Making proteins using genes

O Proteins are made from amino acids
O The order of nucleotide bases determine

the order of amino acids in a protein

O Each amino acid is coded by 3 bases
O A triplet

O Different sequences form different amino

acids
O GTC: Valine
O TCA: Serine
O CCC: Proline

Making proteins using genes

O The code in DNA is degenerate
O Means more than one base triplet can code for

the same amino acid.

O Here are more possible combinaios of three
bases than there are amino acids
O 64 triplets and only 20 amino acids
O Eg. Proline (Pro) can be coded by CCT, CCC,

CCA and CCG

O Glutamine (Gln) can be coded by CAA and CAG

Non Coding DNA

O Genes in eukaryotic DNA contain

sections do not code for amino acids.

O These are introns (if they code theyre

exons)
O Introns are removed during protein

synthesis
O DNA also contains sections of
multiple repeats outside of genes.
O Areas that repeat over and over
O These areas dont code for amino

acids.

Genes and
Development
O All enzymes are proteins- which are

built for the instructions within genes

O The order of the bases in the genes
decides amino acids in protein
O This determines the enzyme that is

made
O So, genes help determine the
development and nature because
they contain the information

Genes and
Development
DNA sequence determines
amino acid sequence
Proteins and enzymes
formed
Enzymes control metabolic
pathways
Metabolic pathways help
determine nature and
development

Alleles
O A gene can exist in more than one

form
O Order of the bases in each allele is
slightly different
O So they code different versions of the

same characteristic
O Eg. Eye Colour: Blue or brown

Homologous
Chromosome
O Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes
O 46 in total

O Pairs of matching chromosomes are

called homologous pairs.

O In this the chromosomes are the same

size and have the same genes

O But different alleles

O The alleles coding for the same gene will

be in the same position (locus) on each

chromosome.

Homologous
Chromosomes
Same size and
same genes
but different
allele

Position
of gene

Allele for
type A
Allele for
type B

Gene Mutations
O Mutations are changes in the base sequence of

an organisms DNA.
O Mutations can produce new alleles of genes
O A gene codes for a specific protein.
O So if a sequence of bases in a gene changes a non

functional or different protein could be produced

O All enzymes are proteins.
O So if there is a mutation in a gene that codes for an

enzymes, then that enzyme may not form properly.

O Can produce and active site that does not match

substrate.