BIOL1003 Study Guide - Final Guide: Bacteriophage, Cell Nucleus, Nuclease
Molecular Genetics
Proteins and Nucleic Acids in Cells
• Viruses (bacteriophage) - no nucleus, no membrane, no "cell", protein capsule, nucleic acids
inside.
• Bacteria - cell surrounded by membrane and capsule, no nucleus (nucleic acids freely in cell),
proteins in membranes and capsule.
• Eukaryotes - cell surrounded by membrane, nucleus surrounded by membrane, nucleic acid
and protein in nucleus, proteins in membranes and proteins in organelles.
Griffith's
Experiment
• Griffith was looking for a vaccine for pneumonia by studying mice infected
with two strains of the causative bacterium: S strain = virulent, R strain = non-
virulent.
• He proposed that cells contained a non-living 'transforming principles' that
could transform one cell into another.
Avery,
MacLeod
and
McCarty's
Experiment
• Aimed to identify transforming principle.
• Grew large batches of S-strain bacteria and tested which of different cellular
components was the transforming principle.
• Treated cell extracts with:
o Proteinase - transformation still occurs.
o Nuclease - no transformation.
• Implies that DNA (nucleic acid) is the transforming principle, not proteins.
Hershey-
Chase
Experiment
• Add 35S (sulphur): Radioactive proteins
o Radioactive phage heads.
o No radioactivity in phage progeny.
• Add 32P (phosphorous 32): Radioactive DNA
o No radioactivity in phage heads.
o Radioactive phage progeny.
• The Hershey-Chase experiment provided powerful evidence that nucleic acids,
rather than proteins, are the hereditary material, at least for certain viruses.
Linking DNA to Proteins
• 1950: Chargaff's rules - composition of DNA varied from one species to another but in every
species, A = T, G = C.
• Early 1950s: Franklin and Wilkins - X-ray crystallogram of DNA suggests a helical structure.
• 1953: Watson and Crick - structure of DNA. Used X-ray data from Rosalind Franklin.
Molecular Structure of DNA
• The sugar-phosphate backbone is the same along the length of the
molecule.
• Information is encoded in the sequence of bases of a DNA molecule.
• Nucleotide mono-phosphates are joined by phosphodiester bonds.
• Base pairs are linked by hydrogen bonds.
o Hydrogen bonds are weak bonds and occur between an
electronegative atom and a hydrogen atom.
• Complementary base pairing - purine + pyrimidine.
• The two DNA strands are two antiparallel sugar-phosphate chains.
o One end of each strand has a free 5' phosphate group.
o The other end has a free 3' hydroxyl group.
o The two strands are linked by a hydrogen bond between bases.
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Document Summary
Molecular structure of dna: the sugar-phosphate backbone is the same along the length of the molecule. Genetic information is stored in dna: dna is a macromolecule, dna is a polymer - made up of monomers joined together. Each mutant had only one requirement, suggesting a mutation has a simple and limited effect. By examining different mutants requiring the same supplement they could identify which enzyme in a pathway was mutated: one gene, one trait beadle a(cid:374)d tatu(cid:373): (cid:862)o(cid:374)e ge(cid:374)e, o(cid:374)e e(cid:374)zy(cid:373)e(cid:863) one gene, one protein. Proteins are the link between genotype and phenotype: proteins are the products of genes: Proteins can be the molecules visible in the phenotype, eg: beta globin. Proteins can be enzymes that make molecules visible in the phenotype, eg: tyrosinase. Proteins can be the signals to make visible changes in phenotype, eg: sry gene: different alleles produce different proteins, different proteins produce different phenotypes.