Whats So Special About DNA?

DNA is one of the most boring macromolecules

imaginable - its made of only four building blocks
and has a perfectly monotonous structure.
Worse yet, DNA just sits there - it doesnt
catalyze reactions or build the cell or organism.
So, whats so good about DNA?
The answer lies in DNAs ability to store and
copy information.

How Can DNA Store and Copy

Information?
Key properties that allow these neat tricks are
that DNA is a double stranded molecule held
together by complementary bases that pair
through simple rules.

DNA is also capable of occasional change, and

occasionally, change is good.

Winners of the Race to Learn DNAs Structure Watson and

Crick 52 Years Ago

Building DNA Building Blocks

DNA is Made of Two Long Chains of Nucleotides Joined by

Hydrogen Bonds
A Nucleotide

G and C are
complementary as
are A and T

Two Views of the Double Helix

DNA is Almost Always Wrapped Around Proteins

chromatin

This .
. not this is
whats found in
the cell.

Complementary Base Pairing

Allows Each Strand of DNA
to Serve as a Template for
DNA Replication

DNA is a perfect illustration of

function following form
(structure dictates function).

DNA Replication Something

Old and Something New in the
Daughter Molecules

Simple As It Is in Principle,
DNA Replication Requires
Many Enzymes That Work
Coordinately

DNA polymerases are the first

and foremost of the replication
enzymes.

How Do Genes Work?

The answer is the purview of

molecular genetics and is
where we head next.

Accidents Happen With Some Accidents (Base Mismatches)

Leading to Mutation

A mutation is a heritable change in DNA sequence.

Mutation
Some mutation is good, too much is bad.
Cells employ elaborate mechanisms to prevent mutation but the
mechanisms arent perfect.
Mutations are the root cause of cancer (bad).
Mutations are the only way to introduce novel genes into a species
for evolution (good).
The effects of mutation are usually bad or neutral - only sometimes
are mutations beneficial.
So, just like Goldilocks not to hot, not too cold, just right the
optimal rate of new mutation is a balancing act.

DNA Damage is Often the Root Cause of Mutation

DNA is chemically altered (i.e. damaged) spontaneously and by

chemicals and radiation.

Mutation as Villain

Cancerous growths that

result from mutation of
a gene that polices
DNA for errors.

Cancer Incidence Increases Sharply with Age

The increase is due at least in part to the age-related accumulation of multiple

mutations in single cells.

Whats a Gene?
A simple question - a complicated answer.

In part, the answer depends on the what level (molecular,

cellular, organismal) were interested in.

A working definition A gene is a sequence of DNA capable of

producing some element of biological function.

Biological function can refer to many things. It may be a readily

observable trait, like skin color, a cellular property, like the length
of the cell cycle, or a molecular property, like the three dimensional
shape of a protein.

Alleles Revisited
Each form of a gene is an allele.
An example For the gene that
determines one of the polypeptide
chains in hemoglobin (the oxygen
carrying protein of blood), one allele
determines the standard form of the
polypeptide and another allele
determines a polypeptide form that
causes sickle cell anemia.

normal
red blood
cell
sickled
red blood
cell

How Do Different Forms of a Gene Create Different Traits?

One way - Different forms of

a gene can create proteins
with different amino acid
sequences.

These proteins may have different structures and functions.

In this way, different phenotypes stem from different forms of a

gene.

How Do Genes Work?

The answer is the purview of

molecular genetics and is
where we head next.