DNA and Protein Synthesis

An updated version of this lesson is available at Visionlearning: Nucleic Acids With over 100,000 different proteins to manufacture, how the heck does our body get it right? When one thinks of the amount of information the body needs to keep track of, - eye, hair and skin color, protein sequence, toenail size, etc. - it would seem a task for a supercomputer to record all of the necessary information. In essence it is. But not a supercomputer made of silicon wafers and TV screens, rather one made of an intricate biomolecule called DNA. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is in the family of molecules referred to as nucleic acids. One strand of DNA has a backbone consisting of a polymer of the simple sugar deoxyribose bonded to something called a phosphate unit. Very unimpressively then, the backbone of a strand of DNA resembles this:

sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-...

What is impressive about DNA is that each sugar molecule in the strand also binds to one of four different nucleotide bases. These bases: Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C) and Thymine (T), are the beginnings of what we will soon see is a molecular alphabet. Each sugar molecule in the DNA strand will bind to one nucleotide base. Thus, as our description of DNA unfolds, we see that a single strand of the molecule looks more like this:
C T G A ... sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-...

Each strand of DNA contains millions or even billions (in the case of human DNA) of nucleotide bases. These bases are arranged in a specific order according to our genetic ancestry. The order of these base units makes up the code for specific characteristics in the body, such as eye color or nose-hair length. Just as we use 26 letters in various sequences to code for the words you are now reading, our body's DNA uses 4 letters (the 4 nucleotide bases) to code for millions of different characteristics. Each molecule of DNA is actually made up of 2 strands of DNA cross-linked together. Each nucleotide base in the DNA strand will cross-link (via hydrogen bonds) with a nucleotide base in a second strand of DNA forming a structure that resembles a ladder. These bases cross-link in a very specific order: A will only link with T (and vice-versa), and C will only link with G (and vice-versa). Thus our picture of DNA now looks like this:

sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-... G A C T ... | | | | | C T G A ... sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate-...

In 1953, James Watson, Francis Crick and Rosalind Franklin discovered that the structure of DNA is actually a double helix. In other words, the DNA ladder described above coils around itself somewhat like the cord of a telephone, as illustrated at right. To get a better picture of the DNA double helix, Dr. Abby Parrill and Dr. Jacquelyn Gervay at the University of Arizona have put together a movie of the DNA double helix and an interactive strand of DNA that can be moved around by the user. Both are available by clicking below (Note: the interactive DNA strand requires Chemscape's CHIME software to run). Both may take several minutes to load on a 28.8 modem (and they may not work with MS IExplorer).
(~576k movie opens in a new window)

Artwork courtesy of Lisa Graf for MCET

(large animation opens in a new window)

The specific base-pairing of DNA aids in reproduction of the double helix when more genetic material is needed (such as during reproduction, to pass on characteristics from parent to offspring). When DNA reproduces, the 2 strands unzip from each other and enzymes add new bases to each, thus forming two new strands. This process is illustrated in the Access Excellence DNA Replicating Itself page (just hit your browser's Back button to return here). Within this coil of DNA lies all the information needed to produce everything in the human body. A strand of DNA may be millions, or billions, of base-pairs long. Different segments of the DNA molecule code for different characteristics in the body. A Gene is a relatively small segment of DNA that codes for the synthesis of a specific protein. This protein then will play a structural or functional role in the

body. A chromosome is a larger collection of DNA that contains many genes and the support proteins needed to control these genes. Protein Synthesis How does a gene code for a protein? Protein synthesis is a 2 part process that involves a second type of nucleic acid along with DNA. This second type of nucleic acid is RNA, ribonucleic acid. RNA differs from DNA in two respects. First, the sugar units in RNA are ribose as compared to DNA's deoxyribose. Because of this difference, RNA does not bind to the nucleotide base Thymine, instead, RNA contains the nucleotide base Uracil (U) in place of T (RNA also contains the other three bases: A, C and G).
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Transcription: In the first step of protein synthesis, the 2 DNA strands in a gene that codes for a protein unzip from each other. Similar to the way DNA replicates itself, a single strand of messenger RNA (mRNA) is then made by pairing up mRNA bases with the exposed DNA nucleotide bases. The top column in the table below shows 6 bases in a DNA sequence. Click on each DNA base to see the complementary mRNA base in the bottom column.
DNA Sequence mRNA Sequence

Remember that mRNA does not contain the base Thymine, so U is paired with each of DNA's A bases. Translation: After the mRNA is manufactured, it leaves the cell nucleus and travels to a cellular organelle called the ribosome (we will learn about the cell, nucleus and ribosome in the next lesson). In the ribosome, the mRNA code is translated into a transfer RNA (tRNA) code which, in turn, is transfered into a protein sequence. In this process, each set of 3 mRNA bases (the mRNA base triplet is called a codon) will pair with a complimentary tRNA base triplet (called an anticodon). Each tRNA is specific to an amino acid, as tRNA's are added to the sequence, amino acids are linked together by peptide bonds, eventually forming a protein that is later released by the tRNA. Using the mRNA strand we obtained above, you can generate the complimentary tRNA/amino acid sequence by clicking on the mRNA codons in the table below.
mRNA codon

After the processes of transcription and translation are complete, we are left with a protein that consists of the chain:
Aspartic Acid -Leucine

Although our 'protein' is only 2 amino acids in length, proteins normally consist of hundreds or thousands of amino acids. Below are several sites that give additional information on DNA and the genetic code:
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This Cell to Protein page allows you to input any DNA sequence and it will calculate the complementary mRNA sequence and the resulting amino acid chain. Genentech's Access Excellence pages have excellent tutorials on the History of DNA and Protein Synthesis. PBS has put together an outstanding, interactive DNA and Protein Synthesis tutorial.