Lecture 6.

0 Hereditary Materials

Dr. Munima Haque

Assistant Professor
Biotechnology program
MNS, Brac University
Lecture overview

• Genetic Materials
• DNA, RNA & Protein
• Genetic Code
• Expression of traits
• Mutation
 6.1 Genetic Materials

 Chromosome: A chromosome is a long, single, coiled piece of DNA

 DNA: The macromolecule that stores organism's genetic information

 Gene: A DNA sequence that codes for a specific trait or protein

 Allele: Genes of the same type that contain different kinds of

information

 RNA and Protein

 Griffith's experiment
Attempted to develop a vaccine in 1928.

 Isolated two strains of Streptococcus pneumonia (pathogenic and non-

pathogenic).
 Discovered transformation.
 DNA

• In 1868 Johann Miescher investigated the chemical composition of the

nucleus

• Isolated an organic acid that was high in phosphorus which was called
nuclein

• Originally believed to be an unknown class of proteins

• Experiments in the 1950 s showed that DNA is the hereditary material

• Scientists raced to determine the structure of DNA

• Rosalind Franklin’s work on helical model of DNA

• 1953 Watson and Crick proposed that DNA is a double helix

 Structure of DNA

Each nucleotide consists of

•Deoxyribose (5-carbon sugar)
•Phosphate group
•A nitrogen-containing base

Four bases
• Adenine
• Guanine
• Thymine Source: https://pmgbiology.com/tag/nucleotide/

• Cytosine
 6.2 Structure of DNA

Chargaff's law:
The rules of base pairing (or nucleotide pairing)
are:
A with T: the purine adenine (A) always pairs with
the pyrimidine thymine (T)
C with G: the pyrimidine cytosine (C) always pairs
with the purine guanine (G)
•Amount of adenine relative to guanine differs
among species.
•Amount of adenine always equals amount of
thymine and amount of guanine always equals
amount of cytosine

Source: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Nucleotide
• A=T and G=C
 6.2 RNA

DNA is transcribed to form RNA

 Occurs in the nucleus

 RNA moves into cytoplasm

 RNA is translated to form proteins

Three major classes of RNAs

Messenger RNA
• Carries protein building instruction
Ribosomal RNA
• Major component of ribosomes Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleic_acid#/media/File:Difference_DNA_RNA-EN.svg

Transfer RNA
• Delivers amino acids to ribosomes
 6.2 RNA

• RNA stands for Ribonucleic Acid and

is also a polymer of nucleotides

• RNA is always single stranded

(although certain forms of RNA can
fold back on themselves at points so
they can appear double stranded)

• The sugar in every RNA nucleotide is

ribose (as opposed to deoxyribose in
DNA

• DNA contains 4 bases ( whereas

RNA contains A,U,C and G (thymine
is replaced by uracil)
A Nucleotide Subunit of RNA
 6.2 Protein formation

• Genes that provide instructions for proteins are expressed in a two-step process

• In transcription, the DNA sequence of a gene is " in RNA In eukaryotes, the RNA must go
through additional processing steps to become a messenger RNA, or mRNA

• In translation, the sequence of nucleotides in the mRNA is " into a sequence of amino acids in
a polypeptide (protein chain)

 Translation involves “ a messenger RNA ( and using its information to

build a polypeptide, or chain of amino acids

 For most purposes, a polypeptide is basically just a protein (with the technical difference
being that some large proteins are made up of Source: https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-perseus-
images/1ade7bbd40ca8dbc7a55ddf4067935e42c347f35.png
several polypeptide chains)
 6.3 Genetic Code

In an mRNA, the instructions for building a

polypeptide come in groups of three
nucleotides called codons

• Set of 64 base triplets

• Nucleotide bases read in blocks of three as

Codon

• 61 specify 20 kinds of amino acids

• Most amino acids can be specified by more

than one codon

• 3 stop translation (UAA)

Source: https://www.tes.com/lessons/MShQ8E_
MsdfBhQ/protein-synthesis-helpful-websites
 6.4 Expression of traits

• Whether a person is born with attached or detached earlobes depends on a single gene
• Genetic materials are responsible for the traits

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/537124693039577832/
 6.4 Expression of traits

Genes

• Units of information about specific traits

• Passed from parents to offspring

• Each has a specific location locus on a chromosome

Alleles

• Different molecular forms of a gene

• Arise by mutation

• Dominant allele masks a recessive allele that is paired with it

 6.4 Expression of traits

Source: https://www.expii.com/t/alleles-definition-role-in-inheritance-10173
L 6.4 Expression of traits
 Inherited one allele for this gene from each parent

 Dominant allele specifies detached earlobes

 Recessive allele specifies attached lobes
https://sg.idtdna.com/pages/education/decoded/article/genotyping-terms-to-know
6.4 Expression of traits

• If you have attached earlobes, you inherited two

copies of the recessive allele

• If you have detached earlobes, you may have

either one or two copies of the dominant allele

Allele Combinations

Homozygous

 Having two identical alleles at a locus

 AA or aa

Heterozygous

 having two different alleles at a locus

 Aa
 Expression of traits

Genotype & Phenotype

• Genotype refers to particular genes an individual carries

• Phenotype refers to an individual’s observable traits

• Cannot always determine genotype by observing phenotype

Source: https sg.idtdna.com/pages/education/decoded/article/genotyping terms to know

6.5 Mutation

• Changes in DNA sequence from

an individual's inherited genetic
sequence

• Mutations include alterations in

DNA sequence that are rare or
have been identified in just a single
individual

1. Base-Pair Substitutions
2. Insertions
3. Deletions
 6.5 Mutation

Germline mutation

• A mutation present in one's gametes (egg or sperm), and thus, can be inherited
Germline mutations are responsible for familial inherited diseases, such as
retinoblastoma, Huntington's disease, and cystic fibrosis They can be either
dominant or recessive mutations, requiring only 1 or both alleles, respectively, to be
mutated for expression of the inherited trait

Somatic mutation

• A mutation that occurs in non germline tissues and cannot be inherited Thus, such
mutations are only present in some of the cells of the body (e g in a tumor), giving
rise to the presence of multiple genotypes within a single individual

Silent mutations

• A mutation that does not have a visible/detectable effect on the phenotype of an

organism
 6.5 Mutation

Frameshift Mutations

• Insertion
Extra base added into gene region

•Deletion
Base removed from gene region

•Both shift the reading frame

•Result in many wrong amino acids
Source: https://vivadifferences.com/frameshift-vs-point-mutations-the-underlying-
differences/
6.5 Mutation
 Videos and References
Videos

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNsSaxCsIIg
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBZg4aVL3xI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG7uCskUOrA

References

•https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-molecular-genetics/hs-rna-and-protein-
synthesis/a/intro-to-gene-expression-central-dogma
•https://sg.idtdna.com/pages/education/decoded/article/genotyping-terms-to-know
•https://pmgbiology.com/tag/nucleotide/
•https://www.expii.com/t/alleles-definition-role-in-inheritance-10173
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ie3DPzQpKs
•https://vivadifferences.com/frameshift-vs-point-mutations-the-underlying-differences/
http://poweredtemplate.com
 Thank you!

Dr. Munima Haque

Email: ext.munima.haque@bracu.ac.bd