ProteinSynthesis-.ppt

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Notice that the 3’ and 5’ refer to a numbering system for the carbon atoms that make up the sugar. * * * * On the left is the DNA double helix. When the helix is unwound, a ladder configuration shows that the uprights are composed of sugar and phosphate molecules and the rungs are complementary bases. Notice that the bases in DNA pair in such a way that the phosphate-sugar groups are oriented in different directions. This means that the strands of DNA end up running antiparallel to one another, with the 3’ end of one strand opposite the 5’ end of the other strand. * * DNA polymerase is an enzyme. * Replication is called semiconservative because each new double helix is composed of an old (parental) strand and a new (daughter) strand. * Use of the ladder configuration better illustrates how complementary nucleotides available in the cell pair with those of each old strand before they are joined together to form a daughter strand. * * * Like DNA, RNA is a polymer of nucleotides. In an RNA nucleotide, the sugar ribose is attached to a phosphate molecule and to a base, either G, U, A, or C. Notice that in RNA, the base uracil replaces thymine as one of the pyrimidine bases. RNA is single-stranded, whereas DNA is double-stranded. * * * * * The fact that the genetic code is about universal in living things suggests that the code dates back to the first organisms on earth and that all living things are related. * Notice that in this chart, each of the codons (white rectangles) is composed of three letters representing the first base, second base, and third base. For example, find the rectangle where C for the first base and A for the second base intersect. You will see that U, C, A, or G can be the third base. CAU and CAC are codons for histidine; CAA and CAG are codons for glutamine. * Transcription occurs when DNA acts as a template for mRNA synthesis. Translation occurs when the sequence of the mRNA codons de