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Genetics timeline
1882 Walter Fleming discovers rod-shaped bodies he calls "chromosomes
1902 Walter Sutton proposes that hereditary factors must lie on chromosomes. 1915 Thomas Hunt Morgan shows that genes are lined up along chromosomes.
Organism Tomato
Chromosomes are made up of DNA and proteins A gene encodes information for the synthesis of a protein
20 amino acids are commonly found in proteins Each amino acid has a similar, yet unique structure
Avery's results were either ignored or attributed to trace contamination of his DNA fractions with protein
1952 Martha Chase and Alfred Hershey prove that DNA is the substance that transmits inherited traits from one generation to the next. Hershey receives a Nobel Prize in 1969 for this work.
Chargaffs Rules
1953 James Watson and Francis Crick determine that the structure of the DNA molecule is a double helix They elucidate DNA structure using X-ray crystallography images
DNA structure
DNA = long polymer of nucleotides backbone made of sugars and phosphate groups joined by ester bonds Sequence of bases along the backbone encodes genetic information
B DNA
Antiparallel, right-handed double helix. Bps to the axis of the helix Axis passes through center of bps Each bp rotated by 36 from adjacent base pair Bps are stacked 0.34 nm apart from one another. pitch = 3.4 nm has MAJOR and MINOR groove
Z form
Left-handed So-called because its bases seem to zigzag Found in DNA molecules with alternating G-C sequences in alcohol or high salt solution
Form A B Z
Parameters
Direction of helical rotation Residues per turn of helix
A Form
Right 11 33
B Form
Right 10 36
Z-Form
Left 12 base pairs -30
Comments
Gene Expression
The genes in a genome do not have any effect on cellular functions until they are "expressed Different types of cells express different sets of genes, thereby exhibiting various shapes and functions
Transcription
Translation
"C-value paradox"
the apparent discrepancy between the complexity of the organism and the length of its DNA (genome)
Types of RNA
mRNAs messenger RNAs code for proteins ribosomal RNAs form basic structure of ribosome catalyze protein synthesis transfer RNAs adaptors between mRNA and amino acids
rRNAs
tRNAs
Types of RNA
snRNAs small nuclear RNAs Involved in splicing of pre-mRNA small nucleolar RNAs used to process and chemically modify rRNAs function in diverse cellular processes, e.g., 1. telomere synthesis 2. X-chromosome inactivation 3. transport of proteins into the ER
snoRNAs
A tRNA molecule
Two-dimensional map of the secondary structure of 16S rRNA from bacteria, showing the location of base-paired stems and loops