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Mix-and-Match Viruses:
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Both DNA and RNA are nucleic acids, which consist of long chains (polymers)
of chemical units (monomers) called nucleotides
Nucleotides- The basic building block of nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA.
It is an organic compound made up of nitrogenous base, a sugar, and
a phosphate group (monomer).
Polynucleotide- a nucleotide polymer
Polynucleotides can be very long and may have any sequence of nucleotides,
so a large number of polynucleotide chains are possible
Nucleotides are joined together by COVALENT BONDS between the sugar of
one nucleotide and the phosphate of the next
Sugar-phosphate Backbone- a repeating pattern of sugar-phosphate-sugarphosphate
The nitrogenous bases are arranged like ribs that project from the backbone
The phosphate group is the source of the acid in nucleic acid. The phosphate
has given up a hydrogen ion, H+, leaving a negative charge on one of its
oxygen atoms.
The sugar group has five carbon atoms and one oxygen atom. It is known as
deoxyribose because, compared with the sugar ribose, it is missing an
oxygen atom
DNA- (Deoxyribonucleic acid) A self-replicating material present in nearly all
living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of
genetic information.
Nucleic- it is located inside the nucleus
Thymine (T) and Cytosine - two types of nucleotides with single ring
structures
Adenine (A) and Guanine (G)- two types of nucleotides with double ring
structures (larger)
Uracil (U)- a molecule similar to thymine that is found in RNA (no thymine in
RNA)
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DNA Replication:
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Genetic information in DNA is transcribed into RNA and them translated into
polypeptides, which then fold into proteins
DNA and RNA are polymers made of nucleotide monomers strung together in
specific sequences that convey information much as specific sequences of
letters convey information in English
The language of DNA is written as a linear sequence of nucleotide bases
A gene consists of thousands of nucleotides in a specific sequence
When a segment of DNA is transcribed, the result is an RNA molecule (the
language is still that is nucleic acids, but they have just been rewritten)
Translation is the conversion of nucleic acid language to the polypeptide
language
The monomers that make up polypeptides are the 20 amino acids common to
all organisms
RNA is only a messenger; the genetic information that dictates the amino
acid sequence originates in DNA
There can be 64 possible different combinations of nucleotide bases (4 3)
The flow of information from gene to protein is based on a triplet code
Codons- a series of three-base words that are the genetic instructions for the
amino acid sequence of a polypeptide chain (DNA and RNA)
One DNA codon (three nucleotides) one RNA codon (three nucleotides)
one amino acid
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With replication the two DNA strands must first separate at the place where
the process will start, but in transcription only ONE of the DNA strands serves
as a template for the newly forming RNA molecule (THE OTHER STRAND IS
UNUSED)
Then the nucleotides that make up the new RNA molecule take their place
one at a time along the DNA template strand by forming hydrogen bonds with
the nucleotides bases
RNA nucleotides follow the pattern of U-T and G-C (No A)
RNA Polymerase- a transcription enzyme that links RNA nucleotides
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Enzymes and sources of chemical energy, such as ATP, are used to translate
mRNA
Requires ribosomes and transfer RNA
Translation of the genetic message carried in mRNA into the amino acid
language of proteins requires an interpreter called tRNA
To convert codons of nucleic acids to the amino acid words of proteins, a cell
uses a molecular interpreter
Transfer RNA (tRNA)- a molecular interpreter
tRNA molecules must carry out two distinct functions: (1) pick up the
appropriate amino acids and (2) recognize the appropriate codons in the
mRNA
Anticodon- a sequence of three nucleotides forming a unit of genetic code in
a transfer RNA molecule (corresponding to a complementary codon in
messenger RNA)
Ribosomes:
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Ribosomes are the organelles that coordinate the functioning of the mRNA
and tRNA and actually make polypeptides
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)- plays a role in transferring information from DNA to
the protein-forming system of the cell
Initiation:
Brings together the mRNA, the first amino acid with its attached tRNA, and
the two subunits of a ribosome
o The initiation process determines exactly where translation will begin so that
the mRNA codons will be translated into the correct sequence of amino acids
1) An mRNA molecule binds to a ribosomal subunit. A special indicator tRNA
then bins to the start codon. The initiator tRNA carries the amino acid Met (its
anticodon, UAC, binds to the start)
o Start Codon- where translation is to begin on the mRNA
2) A large ribosomal subunit binds to the small one, creating a functional
ribosome
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Elongation:
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Amino acids are added one by one to the first amino acid
Mutations:
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Types of Mutations:
The two types of gene mutations are divided into nucleotide substitutions and
nucleotide insertions or deletions
1) Substitution- the replacement of one nucleotide and its base-pairing partner
with another nucleotide pair
o Some genetic substitution mutations may also have no effect at all
o Missense Mutations- involve a single nucleotide that do change the amino
acid coding (sickle cell)
o Some missense mutations have little or no effect on the shape or function of
the resulting protein, but others can cause changes in the protein that
prevent it from performing normally
o Nonsense Mutations- change an amino acid codon into a stop codon (may
result in a prematurely terminated protein, which probably will not function
properly
2) Deletion or Insertion- the deletion or insertion of one or more nucleotides
o Produce a more disastrous effect
o All the nucleotides that are downstream of the insertion or deletion will be
regrouped into different codons
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Mutagens:
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