Chapter 12 DNA and RNA

12–1 DNA
Griffith and Transformation
- In 1928, British scientist Fredrick Griffith was trying to learn how certain types of
bacteria caused pneumonia.
- He isolated two different strains of pneumonia bacteria from mice and grew them in his
lab.
Griffith's Experiments
- Experiment 1: Mice were injected with the disease-causing strain of bacteria. The mice
developed pneumonia and died.
- Experiment 2: Mice were injected with the harmless strain of bacteria. These mice did
not get sick.
- Experiment 3: Griffith heated the disease-causing bacteria. He then injected the heat-
killed bacteria into the mice. The mice survived.
- Experiment 4: Griffith mixed his heat-killed, disease-causing bacteria with live, harmless
bacteria and injected the mixture into the mice. The mice developed pneumonia and
died.
- Griffith concluded that the heat-killed bacteria passed their disease-causing ability to
the harmless strain.
- Griffith called this process transformation because one strain of bacteria (the harmless
strain) had changed permanently into another (the disease-causing strain).
Avery and DNA
- Oswald Avery repeated Griffith’s work to determine which molecule was most
important for transformation.
- Therefore, they concluded that DNA was the transforming factor.
- Avery and other scientists discovered that the nucleic acid DNA stores and transmits the
genetic information from one generation of an organism to the next.
The Hershey-Chase Experiment
Bacteriophages
- A virus that infects bacteria is known as a bacteriophage.
- Bacteriophages are composed of a DNA or RNA core and a protein coat.
- Hershey and Chase concluded that the genetic material of the bacteriophage was DNA,
not protein.
The Components and Structure of DNA
- DNA is made up of nucleotides.
- A nucleotide is a monomer of nucleic acids made up of a five-carbon sugar called
deoxyribose, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.
- DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid.
- There are four kinds of bases in in DNA:
o Adenine
o guanine
o cytosine
o thymine
- The backbone of a DNA chain is formed by sugar and phosphate groups of each
nucleotide.
The Double Helix
- Watson and Crick's model of DNA was a double helix, in which two strands were wound
around each other.
- adenine and thymine, and guanine and cytosine.
12–2 Chromosomes and DNA Replication
DNA and Chromosomes
- Many eukaryotes have 1000 times the amount of DNA as prokaryotes.
- Eukaryotic DNA is in the cell nucleus inside chromosomes.
- The number of chromosomes varies widely from one species to the next.
Chromosome Structure
- Eukaryotic chromosomes contain DNA and protein, tightly packed together to form
chromatin.
Duplicating DNA
- Before a cell divides, it duplicates its DNA in a process called replication.
- Replication ensures that each resulting cell will have a complete set of DNAs.
- Replication is a semi-conservative process, which means that each strand of DNA is half
old and half new.
- During DNA replication, the DNA molecule separates into two strands, then produces
two new complementary strands following the rules of base pairing. Each strand of the
double helix of DNA serves as a template for the new strand.
How Replication Occurs
- DNA replication is carried out by enzymes that “unzip” a molecule of DNA.
- Hydrogen bonds between base pairs are broken and the two strands of DNA unwind.
- The principal enzyme involved in DNA replication is DNA polymerase.
- DNA polymerase joins individual nucleotides to produce a DNA molecule and then
“proofreads” each new DNA strand.
12–3 RNA and Protein Synthesis
- Genes are coded DNA instructions that control the production of proteins.
- RNA contains coded information for making proteins.
- Proteins are needed for: making muscles, hair and nails, skin tone (melanin), act as
biological catalysts (enzymes).
The Structure of RNA
- RNA is short for Ribonucleic acid.
- RNA consists of a long chain of nucleotides.
- Each nucleotide is made up of a 5-carbon sugar (ribose), a phosphate group, and a
nitrogenous base.
- There are three main differences between RNA and DNA:
o The sugar in RNA is ribose instead of deoxyribose.
o RNA is generally single-stranded.
o RNA contains uracil in place of thymine.

Types of RNA
- There are three main types of RNA:
o messenger RNA
o ribosomal RNA
o transfer RNA
- Messenger RNA (mRNA) carries copies of instructions for assembling amino acids into
proteins.
Transcription
- RNA molecules are produced by copying part of a nucleotide sequence of DNA into a
complementary sequence in RNA. This process is called transcription.
- Transcription requires the enzyme RNA polymerase.
- During transcription, RNA polymerase binds to DNA and separates the DNA strands.
- RNA polymerase then uses one strand of DNA as a template from which nucleotides are
assembled into a strand of RNA.
- RNA polymerase binds only to regions of DNA known as promoters.
- Promoters are signals in DNA that indicate to the enzyme where to bind to make RNA.
RNA Editing
- The DNA of eukaryotic genes contains sequences of nucleotides, called introns, that are
not involved in coding for proteins.
- The DNA sequences that code for proteins is called exons.
- When RNA molecules are formed, introns and exons are copied from DNA.
- The introns are cut out of RNA molecules.
- The exons are then spliced together to form mRNA.
The Genetic Code
- The genetic code is the “language” of mRNA instructions.
- The code is written using four “letters” (the bases: A, U, C, and G).
- A codon consists of three consecutive nucleotides on mRNA that specify a particular
amino acid.
- Each codon specifies a particular amino acid that is to be placed on the polypeptide
chain.
- Some amino acids can be specified by more than one codon.
- There is one codon AUG that can either specify the amino acid methionine or serve as a
“start” codon for protein synthesis. Known as initiators.
- There are three “stop” codons that do not code for any amino acid. These “stop” codons
signify the end of a polypeptide. These are known as terminators.
Translation
- Translation is the decoding of an mRNA message into a polypeptide chain (protein).
- Translation takes place on ribosomes.
- During translation, the cell uses information from messenger RNA to produce proteins.
- Messenger RNA is transcribed in the nucleus, and then enters the cytoplasm where it
attaches to a ribosome.
- Translation begins when an mRNA molecule attaches to a ribosome.
- As each codon of the mRNA molecule moves through the ribosome, the proper amino
acid is brought into the ribosome by tRNA.
- In the ribosome, the amino acid is transferred to the growing polypeptide chain.
- The process continues until the ribosome reaches a stop codon. (terminator)
Genes and Proteins
- Genes contain instructions for assembling proteins.
- Many proteins are enzymes, which catalyze and regulate chemical reactions.
- Proteins are each specifically designed to build or operate a component of a living cell.
- The sequence of bases in DNA is used as a template for mRNA.
- The codons of mRNA specify the sequence of amino acids in a protein.
12–4 Mutations
 - Mutations are changes in the genetic material.
Kinds of Mutations
- Mutations that produce changes in a single gene are known as gene mutations.
- Mutations that produce changes in whole chromosomes are known as chromosomal
mutations.
Gene Mutations
- Gene mutations involving a change in one or a few nucleotides are known as point
mutations because they occur at a single point in the DNA sequence.
- Point mutations include substitutions, insertions, and deletions.
- Substitutions usually affect no more than a single amino acid.
- The effects of insertions or deletions are more dramatic.
- The addition or deletion of a nucleotide causes a shift in the grouping of codons.
- Changes like these are called frameshift mutations.
- Frameshift mutations may change every amino acid that follows the point of the
mutation.
- Frameshift mutations can alter a protein so much that it is unable to perform its normal
functions.
- In an insertion, an extra base is inserted into a base sequence.
- In a deletion, the loss of a single base is deleted, and the reading frame is shifted.
Chromosomal Mutations
- Chromosomal mutations involve changes in the number or structure of chromosomes.
- Chromosomal mutations include deletions, duplications, inversions, and translocations.
o 1) Deletions involve the loss of all or part of a chromosome.
o 2) Duplications produce extra copies of parts of a chromosome.
o 3) Inversions reverse the direction of parts of chromosomes.
o 4)Translocations occurs when part of one chromosome breaks off and attaches
to another.
Significance of Mutations
- Many mutations have little or no effect on gene expression.
- Some mutations are the cause of genetic disorders.
- Beneficial mutations may produce proteins with new or altered activities that can be
useful. – Digestion of lactose, having blue eyes, malaria resistance.
- Polyploidy is the condition in which an organism has extra sets of chromosomes. Deadly
in animals but makes plants hardier and produce larger fruit.
- Ex: strawberries vs wild strawberries
12-5 Gene Regulation
Gene regulation
- The process of turning genes on and off.
- During early development, cells begin to take on specific functions.
- Gene regulation ensures that the appropriate genes are expressed at the proper times.
- Gene regulation can also help an organism respond to its environment.
Gene Regulation: An Example
- An operon is a group of genes that operate together.
- The lac genes are turned off by repressors and turned on by the presence of lactose.
Eukaryotic Gene Regulation
- Operons are generally not found in eukaryotes.
- Most eukaryotic genes are controlled individually and have regulatory sequences that
are much more complex than those of the lac operon.
- Many eukaryotic genes have a sequence called the TATA box.
- Eukaryotic promoters are usually found just before the TATA box and consist of short
DNA sequences.
Development and Differentiation
- As cells grow and divide, they undergo differentiation, meaning they become specialized
in structure and function.
- Hox genes control the differentiation of cells and tissues in the embryo.
- Careful control of expression in hox genes is essential for normal development.