Pop quiz

1.Name this sugar A

C

2. Label the parts of this nucleotide

3. How many hydrogen bonds are there between bases Adenine and
Thymine?
4. Name the pyrimidine bases
5. Name the bonds that form between 2 nucleotides
6. What do we mean by the term antiparallel?
7. Name the reaction that joins two nucleotides together
8. Name the reaction that breaks two nucleotides apart
 Pop quiz
1.Name this sugar Phosphate
A
Nitrogenous
C
base
Deoxyribose

PentoseBsugar

2. Label the parts of this nucleotide

3. How many hydrogen bonds are there between bases Adenine and
Thymine? 2
4. Name the pyrimidine bases Thymine, Cytosine and Uracil
5. Name the bonds that form between 2 nucleotides Phosphodiester bond
6. What do we mean by One
the strand
term antiparallel?
runs 5’ to 3’ and the other runs 3’ to 5’
7. Name the reaction that joins two nucleotides together condensation
8. Name the reaction that breaks two nucleotides apart
hydrolysis
 Page 72 & 73 in the OUP
Friday, 22 September 2023 Textbook

3.9 DNA Replication & The Genetic

Code
Lesson Objectives:
To be able to:
Bell Task - Structure of DNA

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DNA replication
The discovery of DNA’s structure by Watson and Crick
provided evidence that complementary base pairing was
key to DNA’s ability to replicate.

Scientists proposed that DNA ‘unzipped’

as hydrogen bonds between base pairs
were broken.

New polynucleotide strands could then

be synthesized using the originals as a
template.

Several hypotheses were proposed as

to the specific mechanism by which new
strands are created.

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Why does DNA need to replicate

Reasons for DNA Replication:

• Cell division – new cells need new DNA for

growth and tissues repair
• Reproduction – gametes requires DNA to pass
on genetic information

The process step-by-step…

 (An enzyme)

DNA helicase ‘unzips’ the 2 strands

What bonds need to be broken here?

DNA helicase breaks the hydrogen bonds
holding the base pairs together.
 Free Nucleotides Bind
• DNA helicase completes the
splitting of the strand.

• Meanwhile, free nucleotides that

have been activated are attracted
to their complementary bases
(complimentary base pairing)

• Each chain acts as a template.

DNA Polymerase
• Once in place the activated
nucleotides are joined together by
DNA polymerase (enzyme!)

• DNA polymerase joins the new

nucleotides to each other by strong
covalent bonds (phosphodiester
bonds ), forming the phosphate-
sugar backbone.
 Replication Finished
 The result is that there are two DNA molecules,
each with one new synthesised strand of DNA and
one strand from the original.

 The DNA is then rewound by another enzyme.

Semi – Conservative Replication
 Enzymes in Replication
• DNA Helicase – breaks hydrogen bonds and
unwinds molecule

• DNA Polymerase – forms the phosphodiester

bonds between nucleotides
Half the molecules is old DNA, half is made of new
molecules
Hence DNA replication is described as semi conservative
 Your turn: Annotate and draw on your
diagrams to explain how DNA is replicated
Key vocabulary to include:
Hydrogen bonds, DNA helicase, Free
nucleotides, DNA polymerase,
Phosphodiester bonds

Extension: Read ‘Continuous and

discontinuous replication’ on page 73 → try
to explain these terms and Okazaki
fragments in your own words/using a
diagram
DNA replication enzymes

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 Replication Errors

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What is the genetic code?
The genetic code of an organism is the sequence of bases
along its DNA. It contains thousands of sections called genes.
Each gene codes for a specific polypeptide.
one gene

thousands more bases

in gene (not shown)
All polypeptides are made from amino acids, so the
sequence of bases in a gene must code for amino acids.
The genetic code is almost universal – the same sequence
of bases codes for the same amino acids in all organisms.

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The triplet code
Given that there are four bases in DNA, and these code for
20 amino acids, what is the basis for the genetic code?
⚫ If one base = one amino acid,
possible amino acids = 4
⚫ If two bases = one amino acid,
possible amino acids = 16 (4×4)
⚫ If three bases = one amino acid,
possible amino acids = 64 (4×4×4)
The existence of a three-base (triplet) code was confirmed
by experiments by Francis Crick and his colleagues in 1961.
The triplet code is degenerate, which means that each
amino acid is coded for by more than one triplet.

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 The Genetic Code
• There are four bases
• Codons made of 3 bases
• 64 different codons

• There are 20 different amino

acids
• Each amino acid is coded for
by more than one triplet so we
call it degenerate)
• The genetic code explains how
each base combinations
makes the different amino
acids
 The Genetic Code

What is the protein sequence

if the DNA sequence is:

AAG CGT AGC

GGT CGT TAC CCT
GAG GAT ATG ATT TCG
 Review Questions

• Answers the
summary
questions

• Then answer
the past exam
questions on
the sheet
 Two theories existed...
Conservative Hypothesis
 The complete parent DNA
molecule acts as a template for
the new daughter molecule,
which is assembled from new
nucleotides. The parent molecule
is unchanged.
Semi-conservative Hypothesis
 The parent DNA molecule
separates into its two component
strands, each of which acts as a
template for the formation of a
new complementary strand. The
two daughter molecules therefore
contain half the parent DNA and
half new DNA (semi-
conservative hypothesis).
 Meselsohn and Stahl (1958)
• The semi conservative hypothesis was shown
to be the true mechanism by the work of
Meselsohn and Stahl (1958).
• They grew the bacteria Escherichia coli with
different isotopes of Nitrogen.
• The bacteria was exposed to N15 for several
generations until it was exposed to a lighter N14.
• Scientists could then distinguish between the
different DNA densities by centrifuging them.
 They knew...
• All the bases in DNA contain Nitrogen

• Nitrogen has two forms:

• Light 14N
• Heavy isotope 15N

• Bacteria will incorporate nitrogen from their

growing medium into any new DNA they make
 Proving
replication is
semi-
conservative
•The 15N strandis heavy so makes a
band low down the tube
•High density(heavy) sinks further
down the tube.
After one generation
•After one generation there was only
one band
•This was the 14/15 hybrid
Second generation
•After another generation there were
2 bands
•A light chain and a 14/15 level