I. DNA
Deoxyribonucleic Acid Carries all heredity information Gene: segment of DNA that controls the production of a specific protein
D. Nucleotide: subunit of DNA Composed of – Sugar: deoxyribose Phosphate Nitrogen base: Adenine (A) Thymine (T) Cytosine (C) Guanine (G)
Shape: Double helix (twisted ladder) Sides of ladder: Sugar Phosphate Rungs: Pair of Nitrogen bases Paired bases: Adenine – Thymine Guanine – Cytosine Hydrogen Bonds between bases -5’-3’strands line up opposite each other.
II. Nitrogen Bases: Two Groups: Purines: A and G Pyrimidines: C, T, U c. Purine base always binds to pyrimidine base
III. DNA Replication Semiconservative Replication (one parent DNA splits to become two new identical DNA) Hydrogen bonds break (DNA polymerase) Free nucleotides pair w/ complementary base pairs 2 strands of identical DNA are created An enzyme called DNA polymerase breaks the H bonds between nucleotides
DNA Replication (cont’d) DNA polymerase (enzyme): Adds appropriate nucleotides to the new DNA strand (3’ end). -Leading strand: elongates as DNA unwinds (5’-3’ direction) -Lagging strand: elongates away from replication fork and synthesized discontinuously into Okazaki fragments -small segments of DNA that are later connected by DNA ligase.