英语Chapter 4 DNA, RNA, and the Flow of Information.pdfVIP

C H A P T E R 4 DNA, RNA, and the Flow of Genetic Information Having genes in common accounts for the resemblance of a mother to her daughters. Genes must be expressed to exert an effect, and proteins regulate such expression. One such regulatory protein, a zinc-finger protein (zinc ion is blue, protein is red), is shown bound to a control region of DNA (black). [(Left) Barnaby Hall/Photonica. (Right) Drawn from 1AAY.pdb.] NA and RNA are long linear polymers, called nucleic acids, that carry O U T L I N E D information in a form that can be passed from one generation to the 4.1 A Nucleic Acid Consists of Four next. These macromolecules consist of a large number of linked nucleotides, Kinds of Bases Linked to a each composed of a sugar, a phosphate, and a base. Sugars linked by phos- Sugar–Phosphate Backbone phates form a common backbone that plays a structural role, whereas the sequence of bases along a nucleic acid chain carries genetic information. The 4.2 A Pair of Nucleic Acid Chains with DNA molecule has the form of a double helix, a helical structure consisting Complementary Sequences Can of two complementary nucleic acid strands. Each strand serves as the tem- Form a Double-Helical Structure plate for the other in DNA replication. The genes of all cells and many viruses 4.