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DNA Structure and Replication

DNA is made up of nucleotides containing deoxyribose, phosphate groups, and one of four nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymine. DNA exists as a double helix with two antiparallel strands. DNA replication is semi-conservative, with each strand of the original DNA helix serving as a template to produce two new DNA molecules. The process involves enzymes unwinding the DNA helix and adding complementary nucleotides to each template strand to produce the new double helix molecules.

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90 views6 pages

DNA Structure and Replication

DNA is made up of nucleotides containing deoxyribose, phosphate groups, and one of four nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymine. DNA exists as a double helix with two antiparallel strands. DNA replication is semi-conservative, with each strand of the original DNA helix serving as a template to produce two new DNA molecules. The process involves enzymes unwinding the DNA helix and adding complementary nucleotides to each template strand to produce the new double helix molecules.

Uploaded by

Vijayaraj V
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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M.

JAYAPRIYA

DNA structure
DNA is a nucleic acid, one of the four major groups of biological
macromolecules.

Nucleotides
All nucleic acids are made up of nucleotides. In DNA, each nucleotide is
made up of three parts: a 5-carbon sugar called deoxyribose, a phosphate
group, and a nitrogenous base.

DNA uses four kinds of nitrogenous bases: adenine (A), guanine (G)
cytosine (C), and thymine (T).

RNA nucleotides may also contain adenine, guanine and cytosine bases,
but instead of thymine they have another base called uracil (U).

Chargaff's rules
In the 1950s, a biochemist named Erwin Chargaff discovered that the
amounts of the nitrogenous bases (A, T, C, and G) were not found in equal
quantities. However, the amount of A always equalled the amount of T, and
the amount of C always equalled the amount of G.

These findings turned out to be crucial to uncovering the model of the DNA
double helix.

Double helix
The discovery of the double helix structure of DNA was made thanks to a
number of scientists in the 1950s.
DNA double helix. Image modified from OpenStax, CC BY 3.0.

DNA molecules have an antiparallel structure - that is, the two strands of


the helix run in opposite directions of one another. Each strand has a 5' end
and a 3' end.

Solving the structure of DNA was one of the great scientific achievements
of the century.

Knowing the structure of DNA unlocked the door to understanding many


aspects of DNA's function, such as how it is copied and how the
information it carries can be used to produce proteins.

DNA replication
Semi-conservative replication. Image modified from OpenStax, CC BY
3.0.

DNA replication is semi-conservative. This means that each of the two


strands in double-stranded DNA acts as a template to produce two new
strands.

Replication relies on complementary base pairing, that is the principle


explained by Chargaff's rules: adenine (A) always bonds with thymine (T)
and cytosine (C) always bonds with guanine (G).

The replication process


DNA replication occurs through the help of several enzymes. These
enzymes "unzip" DNA molecules by breaking the hydrogen bonds that hold
the two strands together.

Each strand then serves as a template for a new complementary strand to


be created. Complementary bases attach to one another (A-T and C-G).
The primary enzyme involved in this is DNA polymerase which joins
nucleotides to synthesize the new complementary strand. DNA polymerase
also proofreads each new DNA strand to make sure that there are no
errors.

Leading and lagging strands


DNA is made differently on the two strands at a replication fork.

One new strand, the leading strand, runs 5' to 3' towards the fork and is
made continuously.

The other, the lagging strand, runs 5' to 3' away from the fork and is made
in small pieces called Okazaki fragments.
Example: Determining a complementary strand
DNA is only synthesized in the 5' to 3' direction. You can determine the
sequence of a complementary strand if you are given the sequence of the
template strand.

For instance, if you know that the sequence of one strand is 5’-
AATTGGCC-3’, the complementary strand must have the sequence 3’-
TTAACCGG-5’. This allows each base to match up with its partner:

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