:

Expression of Biological
Information
 6.0 Expression of Biological
Information

6.1 DNA and genetic information

6.2 DNA replication
6.3 Protein synthesis: transcription and
translation
6.4 Gene regulation and expression – Lac
operon
 6.0 Expression of Biological
Information

6.1 DNA and genetic information

6.2 DNA replication
6.3 Protein synthesis: transcription and
translation
6.4 Gene regulation and expression – Lac
operon
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain DNA as the carrier of genetic information

Evidence of DNA as the hereditary material.

1) Frederick Griffith (1928)

- studying Streptococcus pneumoniae, a

bacterium that causes pneumonia in mammals
- Two forms of Streptococcus :
i. S (smooth) strain
o covered with capsule & virulent
ii. R ( Rough) strain
o No capsule & harmless
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain DNA as the carrier of genetic information

Observation from Griffith experiment:

When mice are injected with the S strain of

bacteria, they soon die

Other mice injected with the harmless R

strain do not die

When mice are injected with inactive heat-

killed S strain, they do not die

And when mice are injected with both heat-

killed S strain and harmless R strain, they all
die
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain DNA as the carrier of genetic information

 Conclusion:

There was a “transforming agent” in the heat - treated S strain

which transformed the R strain to produce living S strain
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain DNA as the carrier of genetic information

Evidence of DNA as the hereditary material.

2) Avery et. al. (1944)

- identify the transforming principle by analyzing its
chemical composition which was made possible by a
new purification method
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain DNA as the carrier of genetic information

Types of enzymes that used in the

experiment :
1) Protease enzyme destroy the protein

2) Ribonuclease enzyme (Rnase)destroy the RNA

3) Deoxyribonuclease enzyme (Dnase)destroy the

DNA
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain DNA as the carrier of genetic information

Results from Avery et. al. experiment:

Control: Extract of transformation Obtained S + R

substance S + R

Test 1: Extract of transformation Obtained S + R

substance S + Protease + R

Test 2: Extract of transformation Obtained S + R

substance S + RNase + R

Test 3: Extract of transformation

Obtained only R
substance S + DNase + R
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain DNA as the carrier of genetic information

From the results

1) Test with protease, the transformation process

occur

1) Test with RNase, the transformation process occur

2) Test with DNase, the transformation process

cannot occur
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain DNA as the carrier of genetic information

 Conclusion:
Cell S was crushed, its
S component are isolated &
purified

Polysaccharide Lipid RNA Protein DNA Isolated

components are
mixed with live R
strain

LIVING R STRAIN

R R R R R S

“transforming agent” was DNA

Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

Gene concept :
One gene one polypeptide

 The link between gene and

protein was first detected
experimentally by George
Beadle and Edward Tatum in
the early 1940s

 They using the common bread

mold  Neurospora crassa
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

To investigate the influence of genes on these metabolic

pathway, Beadle and Tatum treated a Neurospora
culture with X rays to induce genetic mutation
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

 The treatment generated mutant strains

 The mutant strains had lost the ability to survive in the

minimal culture medium

 But they could be grown on a complete medium which

supplemented with a variety of amino acids, nucleosides
and vitamins
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

 Then a spore produced by the mutant strains are

grown on another complete media to produce mutant
heredity

 Then a spore produced by mutant heredity are test on

minimal media
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

 If there's a growth in minimal media, its show that it is a

wild heredity (no mutation)
 If there’s no growth in minimal media, it shows that it is a
mutant heredity (mutation occur)
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

 The mutants Neurospora had lost the ability to

synthesize certain amino acids or vitamins

 It could survive only when these nutrients were added

to the growth medium
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

 To determine exactly which nutrients were required 

Beadle and Tatum transferred the mutant organisms to a
variety of different growth medium

 Each containing a single amino acid added as a

supplement to the minimal medium
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

 If a spore lacked the ability to synthesize a

particular amino acid, (e.g proline), it will only
grow if the proline was in the growth medium.

 From the observation  The spore lacked the

ability to synthesize Arginine, because it only
grow in the growth medium supplemented with
Arginine
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

 Biosynthesis of amino acids (the building blocks of

proteins) is a complex process with many chemical
reactions mediated by enzymes

 If mutated, it would shut down the pathway, resulting in

no-growth.
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

Conclusion
 Beadle and Tatum proposed the "one gene one
enzyme" theory.

 Hypothesis : Genes produce their effects by specifying

the structure of enzymes.

 Later research demonstrated most enzymes are

proteins.
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

Conclusion
 Many proteins are not enzymes

 Many enzymes contain multiple polypeptide subunits,

and each encoded by a separate gene.

 Therefore, Beadle and Tatum’s idea has been restated

as the one gene - one polypeptide.
Learning Outcomes :
1.2 Describe and compare the structures of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

Evidence of DNA as the hereditary material.

3) Hershey- Chase(1952)
- used radioactive sulfur and phosphorus to
trace the fates of protein and DNA, respectively
of T2 phages that infected bacterial cells. They
wanted to see which of these molecules
entered and could reprogram the cells to make
more phages.
Learning Outcomes :
1.2 Describe and compare the structures of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
Learning Outcomes :
6.1 Explain the concept of one gene one polypeptide

Results:
When proteins were labeled (batch 1), radioactivity
remained outside the cells; but when DNA was labeled
(batch 2), radioactivity was found inside the cells.
Bacterial cells with radioactive phage DNA released
new phages with some radioactive phosphorus.

Conclusion:
Phage DNA entered bacterial cells, but phage did not.
Hershey and Chase concluded that DNA, not protein,
function as the genetic material of phage T2.
Date Scientist Discovery

1931 Frederick Griffith Finds a substance in heat

killed bacteria that
transforms living bacteria
1944 Avery et. Al. Chemically identify
Griffith’s transforming
principle as DNA
1952 Hershey-Chase Demonstrate that DNA,
not protein is involved in
viral reproduction