The Genetic Material Must

Exhibit Four Characteristics

For a molecule to serve as the genetic
material, it must be able
to replicate
to store information
to express information
to allow variation by mutation

 The discovery of the genetic role of DNA

began with research by Frederick Griffith in
1928.
He studied Streptococcus pneumoniae, a
bacterium that causes pneumonia in mammals.
One strain, the R strain, was harmless avirulent.
The other strain, the S strain, was pathogenic
virulent.

Copyright2002PearsonEducation,Inc.,publishingasBenjaminCummings

DNA As Transforming Agent

1944, Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty
demonstrated that the transforming principle
was DNA and not protein

Experiment of Hershey and

Chase
Hershey and Chase demonstrated that DNA,
and not protein, enters the bacterial cell
during bacteriophage infection and directs
viral reproduction.

 In 1952, Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase

showed that DNA was the genetic material of the
phage T2.
The T2 phage, consisting almost entirely of DNA
and protein, attacks Escherichia coli (E. coli), a
common intestinal bacteria of mammals.
This phage can quickly turn an E. coli cell into
a T2-producing factory that releases phages
when the cell ruptures.

Copyright2002PearsonEducation,Inc.,publishingasBenjaminCummings

Chemical Structure of DNA

Nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA.
They consist of
a nitrogenous base
a pentose sugar, and
a phosphate group.

Nitrogenous Bases
The nitrogenous bases can be purines or
pyrimidines.
The purines contain _____________________
adenine (A)
guanine (G).

The pyrimidines contain ____________________

cytosine (C)
thymine (T)
uracil (U)

Sugars
A pentose sugar
Ribose
Deoxyribose

All Carbons In Sugars Are

Numbered
The C5 is the location of the phosphate
group on a nucleotide.

Nucleotides
A nucleoside contains the nitrogenous base
and the pentose sugar.
A nucleotide is a nucleoside with a phosphate
group added

The DNA nucleotide

Building block of DNA

Deoxyribose (pentose sugar), with 3 OH
N
Phosphate (on 5 carbon)
base
Nitrogenous base
purine
adenine
guanine

pyrimidine
thymine
cytosine

5
C

sugar
OH

The Structure of DNA Holds the

Key to Understanding Its
Function
http://www.dnaftb.org/dnaftb/19/conc
ept/index.html - for animation

Chagraff Rules
Erwin Chagraff if its true, the number of
A,T, C, G should be equal in all organisms

Chagraffs Rules
Chargaff showed that
the amount of A is proportional to T and
the amount of C is proportional to G, but
the percentage of C + G does not necessarily
equal the percentage of A + T

DNA Crystals Were Analyzed By XRay Diffraction

X-ray diffraction of DNA showed a 3.4
angstrom periodicity, characteristic of a
helical structure, 20A diameter, etc

Watson-Crick Model
1) two long polynucleotide chains coiled around a
central axis
2) the chains are anti-parallel - their C-5 to C-3
orientations run in opposite directions
3) nitrogenous bases are perpendicular to the axis
of the helix: they are stacked on top of one
another, 3.4 angstroms apart, and are located on
the inside of the structure

Watson-Crick Model
4) the nitrogenous bases of opposite chains are
paired to one another as a result of the formation
of hydrogen bonds - only A-T and G-C bonds
occur.
5) Each complete turn of the helix is 34 angstroms
long 10 bases exist in each chain per turn
6) There is a major groove and a minor grove
along the axis

 Thephosphate
groupofone
nucleotideisattached
tothesugarofthe
nextnucleotidein
line.
Theresultisa
backboneof
alternating
phosphatesand
sugars,fromwhich
thebasesproject.

Copyright2002PearsonEducation,Inc.,publishingasBenjaminCummings

 In addition, Watson and Crick determined that

chemical side groups off the nitrogen bases
would form hydrogen bonds, connecting the two
strands.
Based on details of their
structure, adenine would
form two hydrogen bonds
only with thymine and
guanine would form three
hydrogen bonds only
with cytosine.
.
Copyright2002PearsonEducation,Inc.,publishingasBenjaminCummings

 The base-pairing rules dictate the combinations

of nitrogenous bases that form the rungs of
DNA.
However, this does not restrict the sequence of
nucleotides along each DNA strand.
The linear sequence of the four bases can be
varied in countless ways.
Each gene has a unique order of nitrogen bases.

Copyright2002PearsonEducation,Inc.,publishingasBenjaminCummings

DNA Structure
DNA strands are antiparallel
DNA strands are complementary
Phosphodiester and hydrogen bonds

Nucleotides
Nucleotides are linked by a phosphodiester
bond between the phosphate group at the
_____________________ and the OH group
on the ____________________.
DNA strand is always going from
_____________

Watson-Crick Model Suggest

DNA Replication Mechanism
It has not escaped our notice that the
specific pairing we have postulated
immediately suggests a possible copying
mechanism for the genetic material
Watson, Crick, 1953, Nature, #4356, pp
737-738

Three Forms of DNA

There are three forms of DNA:
1. The A or dehydrated (dry) form, used in
crystallography. This twists in a right handed helix
and has 11 base pairs per turn.
2. The B or wet form, 2 nanometers wide, twisting
in a right handed helix, with 10 base pairs per
turn.
3. The Z form, similar to B but twisting in a left
handed helix. Sometimes created by mutation.

The Structure of RNA Is

Chemically Similar to DNA, but
Single Stranded

RNA Structure
In RNA, the sugar ribose replaces
deoxyribose of DNA and uracil replaces
thymine.

RNA Structure
Most RNAs are single stranded although
some RNAs form
________________________ regions as they
fold into different secondary structures.
In addition, some viruses have a doublestranded RNA genome.

RNA is Complementary to DNA

All RNAs originate as complementary
copies of one of the two strands of DNA
DNA serves as the template for their
synthesis.

Types of RNA
There are three classes of cellular RNAs:
Messenger RNA (mRNA),
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and
Transfer RNA (tRNA).

Forms Of RNA
rRNAs are components of ribosomes for
protein synthesis,
mRNAs are the ___________________for
protein synthesis,
tRNAs carry ________________ for protein
synthesis.