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Proposed by Francis Crick in 1958 to describe the flow
of information in a cell.
DNA
Information stored in DNA is transferred
residuebyresidue to RNA which in turn transfers the
information residuebyresidue to protein.
The Central Dogma was proposed by Crick to help
scientists think about molecular biology. It has
RNA
undergone numerous revisions in the past 45 years.
Protein
The Central Dogma
DNA deoxyribonucleic acid
RNA
Protein
DNA
base: thymine
monophosphate (pyrimidine)
α sugar: 2’deoxyribose
5’
4’ 1’
(5’ to 3’) 3’ 2’
3’ linkage
base:adenine
(purine)
5’ linkage
no 2’hydroxyl
DNA: terminology
base
sugar
nucleoside
base
phosphate(s)
sugar
nucleotides (nucleoside mono, di, and triphosphates)
DNA: structure
1. DNA is double stranded
2. DNA strands are antiparallel
3. GC pairs have 3 hydrogen bonds
4. AT pairs have 2 hydrogen bonds
5. One strand is the complement of the other
6. Major and minor grooves present different
surfaces
7. Cellular DNA is almost exclusively BDNA
8. BDNA has ~10.5 bp/turn of the helix
The Central Dogma
DNA
RNA ribonucleic acid
Protein
RNA: terminology
nucleoside
RNA: Structure
1. RNA can be single or double stranded
2. GC pairs have 3 hydrogen bonds
3. AU pairs have 2 hydrogen bonds
4. Singlestranded, doublestranded, and loop RNA
present different surfaces
The Central Dogma
DNA
RNA
Protein
Protein
20 amino acids
carboxyl group
amino group
Peptide bond formation
Protein structure
αhelix antiparallel βsheet
The Central Dogma (gene)
ATGAGTAACGCG
TACTCATTGCGC
Replication
duplication of DNA using DNA as the template
ATGAGTAACGCG
DNA TACTCATTGCGC
+
(nontemplate, antisense) ATGAGTAACGCG
(template, sense) TACTCATTGCGC
Transcription
synthesis of RNA using DNA as the template
The Central Dogma
1. RNA pol Iribosomal RNA (rRNA)
Transcription 2. RNA pol IImessenger RNA (mRNA)
3. RNA pol III5S rRNA, snRNA, tRNA
RNA processing 1. mRNA splicing
RNA
2. rRNA and tRNA processing
3. capping and polyadenylation
Translation
1. phosphorylation
Posttranslational modification 2. methylation
Protein 3. ubiquitination
Compartmentalization of processes
(thus, transport is important)
replication
Regulation occurs at each step of a process
3. Initiation (starting)
what is the signal that initiates the process?
what are the factors involved in initiation (cisand transacting)?
2. Elongation (continuation)
how is the process maintained with high fidelity once initiated?
what are the factors involved in elongation (cis and transacting)?
3. Termination (ending)
what is the signal that stops the process?
what are the factors involved in termination (cis and transacting)?
Other general regulatory considerations
3. How is the rate of a process regulated?
2. How are the steps regulated in a cell, tissue, or genespecific manner?
3. Stability of biomolecules
4. Cellular localization of biomolecules
Exceptions to the Central Dogma
Nobel Prizes Epigenetic marks, such as patterns of
DNA methylation, can be inherited and
provide information other than the DNA
sequence
DNA
retroviruses use reverse transcriptase
mRNA introns (splicing) to replicate their genome
(Philip Sharp and Richard Roberts) (David Baltimore and Howard Temin)
RNA editing (deamination of cytosine
to yield uracil in mRNA) RNA RNA viruses
RNA interference (RNAi) a mechanism
of posttranscriptional gene silencing
utilizing doublestranded RNA Prions are heritable proteins responsible
for neurological infectious diseases
RNAs (ribozymes) can catalyze an (e.g. scrapie and mad cow)
enzymatic reaction (Stanley Pruisner)
(Thomas Cech and Sidney Altman) Protein
Differences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic gene expression
1. In eukaryotes, one mRNA = one protein.
(in bacteria, one mRNA can be polycistronic, or code for several proteins).
2. DNA in eukaryotes forms a stable, compacted complex with histones.
(in bacteria, the DNA is not in a permanently condensed state)
3. Eukaryotic DNA contains large regions of repetitive DNA.
(in bacteria, DNA rarely contains any "extra" DNA)
4. Much of eukaryotic DNA does not code for proteins (~98% is noncoding in humans)
(in bacteria, often more than 95% of the genome codes for proteins)
5. Sometimes, eukaryotes can use controlled gene rearrangement for increasing the
number of specific genes.
(in bacteria, this happens rarely)
6. Eukaryotic genes are split into exons and introns.
(in bacteria, genes are almost never split)
7. In eukaryotes, mRNA is synthesized in the nucleus and then processed and
exported to the cytoplasm.
(in bacteria, transcription and translation can take place simultaneously off the
same piece of DNA)