Theme 4: DNA Replication and Mitosis - Module 2: Replication Flashcards
(122 cards)
what is the macromolecule that determines the characteristics of the cell?
DNA
what was proposed about the base pairing in DNA
should allow for a mechanism by which the genetic information in DNA could be copied
what did Watson and Crick propose about DNA?
that DNA consists of a pair of template chains which are complementary to each other - prior to replication, hydrogen bonds are broken between complementary strands
what does breaking the hydrogen bonds of complementary strands in DNA allow?
unwinding and separation
what does it mean to say a strand is complementary to another?
each strand contains information necessary to reconstruct the other
what do Watson and Crick believe happens when a cell copies its DNA?
each strand serves as a template for ordering of new nucleotides (accruing to base-pairing rules) into a new complementary strand
what is the end result?
replication of DNA begins with one parent DNA dole helix, the end result would be two new helices
what would be the relation between the new helices and the original?
two new helices, with the new double stranded DNA being an exact copy of the “parental” molecule
what did this model of DNA replication predicted by Watson and Crick propose about when a DNA double helix replicates?
that each of the two daughter DNA molecules would have one old stand from the parental molecule and one newly made strand
what is this model of DNA replication known as?
semiconservative model of DNA replication
what was the conservative fashion DNA replication hypothesis?
two complementary parental strands coming back together after replication
what was the dispersive DNA replication hypothesis?
all four strands combining into a mixture of old and new DNA strands
who’s research conclusively demonstrated that DNA replicates in a semiconservative manner?
Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl
what did Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl do their research on and in what medium was it done?
- E.coli bacterial cells
- medium containing the nucleotide precursors with radioactively labelled heavy isotope of nitrogen (15N)
what were the bacterial cells transferred into?
medium containing 14N, the lighter isotope
after this point every new strand of replicated DNA would be built containing which isotope?
14N rather than the 15N
what did Meselson and Stahl do throughout their experiment?
extracted DNA samples from the growing bacteria
what did they do with DNA that was extracted from each sample?
centrifuged each sample through a solution that separates the DNA based on differing densities of the radioactively labeled molecules
what does incorporation of the 15N isotope do?
makes the DNA “heavier” than that with the 14N isotope so it ends up near the bottom of the tube
what did Meselsen and Stahl identify about the DNA from the bacteria that had been growing in the media containing the 15N isotope
it had only one distinct band
what was observed after the transfer and then one round of replication in the medium containing the 14N isotope?
DNA also appeared as a single band but with lower density
where was the DNA in the 14N isotope placed in the centrifugation gradient with respect to the 15N isotope?
due to its lower density it was positioned higher than the original 15N band in the centrifugation gradient
what must this band contain?
some hybrid of the 14N and 15N DNA
based on these results why did Meselsen and Stahl reject the conservative model of DNA replication?
no individual distinct band correlated with the “heavier” 15N DNA