Chapter 14.

Genes and Chromosomes

Chapter 14. Genes and Chromosomes

14. Genes and Chromosomes

14.1. Chromosomal Elements
14.2. DNA Supercoiling
14.3 The Structure of Chromosomal
TEMA 14. DOGMA CENTRAL DE LA BIOLOGIA

FIGURE 14–1 The central dogma of molecular biology, showing the

general pathways of information flow via replication, transcription, and
translation.
TEMA 14. CROMOSOMA PROCARIOTA

FIGURE 14–2 Relaxed and supercoiled procariota DNAs. The molecule

in the leftmost electron micrograph is relaxed; the degree of supercoiling
increases from left to right.
TEMA 14. CROMOSOMA EUCARIOTA

FIGURE 14–3 Eukaryotic chromosomes. (a) A pair of linked and condensed sister chromatids from a human
chromosome. Eukaryotic chromosomes are in this state after replication and at metaphase during mitosis. (b) A complete
set of chromosomes from a leukocyte from one of the authors. There are 46 chromosomes in every normal human somatic
cell.
TEMA 14. SUPERENROTLLAMENT DEL DNA

FIGURE 14–4 Supercoiling of DNA. When the axis of the DNA double helix is coiled on itself, it forms a
new helix (superhelix). The DNA superhelix is usually called a supercoil..
TEMA 14. SUPERENROTLLAMENT DEL DNA

FIGURE 14–5 Plectonemic and solenoidal supercoiling. (a) Plectonemic supercoiling takes the
form of extended right-handed coils. Solenoidal negative supercoiling takes the form of tight left-
handed turns about an imaginary tubelike structure. The two forms are readily interconverted, although
the solenoidal form is generally not observed unless certain proteins are bound to the DNA. (b)
Plectonemic (top) and solenoidal supercoiling of the same DNA molecule, drawn to scale. Solenoidal
supercoiling provides a much greater degree of compaction.
TEMA 14. COMPACTACIÓ DEL DNA

FIGURE 14–6 Compaction of DNA in a eukaryotic chromosome.

Model for levels of organization that could provide DNA compaction in the
chromosomes of eukaryotes. The levels take the form of coils upon coils.
In cells, the higher-order structures (above the 30 nm fibers) are unlikely
to be as uniform as depicted here.
TEMA 14. NUCLEOSOMES

FIGURE 14–7 Nucleosomes. DNA wrapped around a

nucleosome core. Spacefilling representation of the
nucleosome protein core, with different colors for the
different histones. Regularly spaced nucleosomes
consist of histone complexes bound to DNA.
TEMA 14. INTRONS I EXONS

FIGURE 14–8 Introns in two eukaryotic genes. The gene for ovalbumin has seven introns (A to G), splitting
the coding sequences into eight exons (L, and 1 to 7). The gene for the subunit of hemoglobin has two introns
and three exons, including one intron that alone contains more than half the base pairs of the gene.
TEMA 14. INTRONS I EXONS

FIGURE 14–9 From DNA to proteins.

TEMA 14. COL·LINEALITAT DNA-mRNA-PROTEÏNES

FIGURE 14–10 Colinearity of the coding

nucleotide sequences of DNA and mRNA
and the amino acid sequence of a
polypeptide chain. The triplets of nucleotide
units in DNA determine the amino acids in a
protein through the intermediary mRNA. One
of the DNA strands serves as a template for
synthesis of mRNA, which has nucleotide
triplets (codons) complementary to those of
the DNA. In some bacterial and many
eukaryotic genes, coding sequences are
interrupted at intervals by regions of
noncoding sequences (called introns).