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DNA by the Numbers• Each cell has about 2

m of DNA.• The average human has

75 trillion cells.• The average human has

enough DNA to go from the earth to the sun more than 400 times.

• DNA has a diameter of only 0.000000002 m.

The earth is 150 billion mor 93 million miles from the sun.

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DNA• DNA is often called the blueprint of life.

• In simple terms, DNA contains the instructions for making proteins within the cell.

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Watson & Crick’s ModelIn 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick suggested what is now accepted as the first correct double-helix model of DNA structure

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Why do we study DNA?

We study DNA for many reasons, e.g.,

• its central importance to all life on Earth,

• medical benefits such as cures for diseases,

• better food crops.

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Chromosomes and DNA

• Our genes are on our chromosomes.

• Chromosomes are made up of a chemical called DNA.

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The Shape of the Molecule

• DNA is a very long polymer.

• The basic shape is like a twisted ladder or zipper.

• This is called a double helix.

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The Double Helix Molecule

• The DNA double helix has two strands twisted together.

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One Strand of DNA• The backbone of the molecule is alternating phosphates and deoxyribose sugar

• The teeth are nitrogenousbases.

phosphate

deoxyribose

bases

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Nucleotides

C C

C

OPhosphate

O

O -P OO

O

O -P OO

O

O -P OO

O One deoxyribose together with its phosphate and base

make a nucleotide.

Nitrogenousbase

Deoxyribose

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One Strand of DNA

• One strand of DNA is a polymer of nucleotides.

• One strand of DNA has many millions of nucleotides.

nucleotide

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Four nitrogenous bases

• Cytosine C

• Thymine T

• Adenine A

• Guanine G

DNA has four different bases:

Nucleotides

A

Adenine

T

Thymine

G

Guanine

C

Cytosine

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Two Kinds of Bases in DNA

• Pyrimidines are single ring bases.

• Purines are double ring bases.

C

C

C

C

N

N

O

N

CC

CC

N

N

N

N

N

C

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Thymine and Cytosine are pyrimidines

• Thymine and cytosine each have one ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms.

C

C

C

C

N

N

O

N

cytosine

C

C

C

C

N

N

O

O

thymine

C

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Adenine and Guanine are purines

• Adenine and guanine each have two rings of carbon and nitrogen atoms.

C

C

C

C

N

N

N

Adenine N

N

C

C

C

C

C

N

N

O

N

Guanine N

N

C

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Two Stranded DNA• Remember, DNA has two strands that fit together something like a zipper.

• The teeth are the nitrogenous bases but why do they stick together?

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C

C

C

C

N

N

O

N

C

C

C

C

NN

O

N

N

N C

Hydrogen Bonds

• The bases attract each other because of hydrogen bonds.

• Hydrogen bonds are weak but there are millions and millions of them in a single molecule of DNA.

• The bonds between cytosine and guanine are shown here with dotted lines

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Hydrogen Bonds, cont.• When making hydrogen bonds, cytosine always pairs up with guanine

• Adenine always pairs up with thymine

• Adenine is bonded to thymine here

C

C

C

C

N

N

O

O

C

DNA Structure

Because of this complementary base pairing, the order of the bases in one strand determines the order of the bases in the other strand.

G

G

A

T

T

A

A

C

T

G

C

A

T

C

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Chargraff’s Rule:

• Adenine and Thymine always join together

A T

• Cytosine and Guanine always join together

C G

DNA Structure

To crack the genetic code found in DNA we need to look at the sequence of bases.

The bases are arranged in triplets called codons.

A G G - C T C - A A G - T C C - T A G

T C C - G A G - T T C - A G G - A T C

DNA Structure

A gene is a section of DNA that codes for a protein.

Each unique gene has a unique sequence of bases.

This unique sequence of bases will code for the production of a unique protein.

It is these proteins and combination of proteins that give us a unique phenotype.

Protein

DNA

Gene

Trait

Protein Synthesis: Putting it All Together

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