DNA, RNA and proteins Flashcards
DNA RNA protein synthesis (214 cards)
why was it though that proteins were hereditary material
because of their heterogeneity (diversity) and specificity of function
what did Griffith find in his pneumonia vaccine study
- a vaccine of a mixture of heat killed pathogenic cells and living non-pathogenic cells caused a mouse to die
- he concluded the non-pathogenic bacteria had been transformed into pathogenic bacteria by an unknown heritable substance from the dead pathogenic cells
what are viruses that infect bacteria called
bacteriophages
what is a virus
DNA or RNA enclosed by a protective protein coat
what did Hershey and chase do
- they used radioactive sulfur and phosphorus to trace the fates of protein and DNA, respectively, of T2 phages that infected bacterial cells
- they found that the only the DNA entered the bacterium and when it did the bacteria released new phages containing the DNA of T2
what did Erwin chargaff do
he reported that the base composition of DNA varies from one species to another
- he found that the number of adenine bases equalled the number of thymine bases and that the number of cytosine bases equalled the number of guanine bases
how was the structure of DNA found
Watson saw an x-ray crystallography image by Rosalind franklin
Watson and Crick started building models of a double helix using the base pairing rules of Erwin Chargaff and the image by Rosalind Franklin
the model they made had two strands running antiparallel with 10 base pairs per turn of the helix
A paired to T and C paired to G
which bases are purines (double ring)
adenine and guanine
which bases are pyrimidines (single ring)
cytosine and thymine
how many hydrogen bonds does A form with T
2
how many hydrogen bonds does C form with G
3
what did Watson and crick propose as the method of DNA replication
- the 2 DNA strands of the double helix separate
- each parental strand can now serve as a template to make a new complementary strand
- nucleotides complementary to the parental strands are added to make the sugar phosphate backbone of the new strands
what is the conservative model
two parental strands re-associate after acting as templates for new strands, thus restoring the parental double helix (parent double helix is somehow conserved)
what is the semiconservative model
two strands of the parental molecule separate and each function as a template for synthesis of a new complementary strand
what is the dispersive model
each strand of both daughter molecules contains a mixture of old and newly synthesised DNA
what is the model of DNA replication
semiconservative model
what did Meselson and stahl do
they had 2 mediums of E.coli - one containing N15 (heavy) and the other N14 (light)
they transferred the N15 medium to the N14 medium
after the first replication the DNA was extracted and centrifuged to separate the densities. only one band was formed containing the parent strand and the N14 strand
the DNA was extracted after the second replication and after centrifugation 2 bands were formed. there was the band that appeared previously and a lighter band. the lighter band is from replication of the N14 strand using N14 nucleotides
how many DNA molecules does each somatic cell nucleus of a human have
46
where does the replication of chromosomal DNA begin
origin of replication
what is the origin of replication
short stretches of DNA that have a specific sequence of nucleotides and is where DNA replication begins
how does DNA replication begin from the origin of replication
proteins that initiate replication recognise the origin of replication and attaches to the DNA separating the strands and opening up the replication bubble
eukaryotic cells have one/multiple origins of replication per chromosome
multiple - thousands whereas bacterium like E.coli only has one
why is it useful for eukaryotes to have multiple origins of replication
speeds up the copying of very long DNA molecules
what is the replication fork
Y shaped region where the parental strands of DNA are being unwound