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MOLECULAR BASIS OF
INHERITANCE
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Central dogma
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Transforming Principle
In 1928, Frederick Griffith, in a series of experiments with Streptococcus
pneumoniae (bacterium responsible for pneumonia), witnessed a
miraculous transformation in the bacteria. During the course of his
experiment, a living organism (bacteria) had changed in physical form.
When Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) bacteria are grown
on a culture plate, some produce smooth shiny colonies (S) while others
produce rough colonies (R). This is because the S strain bacteria have a
mucous (polysaccharide) coat, while R strain does not. Mice infected with
the S strain (virulent) die from pneumonia infection but mice infected
with the R strain do not develop pneumonia.
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6.2.2 Properties of Genetic Material (DNA versus RNA)
From the foregoing discussion, it is clear that the debate between proteins
versus DNA as the genetic material was unequivocally resolved from
Hershey-Chase experiment. It became an established fact that it is DNA
that acts as genetic material. However, it subsequently became clear that
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in some viruses, RNA is the genetic material (for example, Tobacco Mosaic
viruses, QB bacteriophage, etc.). Answer to some of the questions such as,
why DNA is the predominant genetic material, whereas RNA performs
dynamic functions of messenger and adapter has to be found from the
differences between chemical structures of the two nucleic acid molecules.
Can you recall the two chemical differences between DNA and RNA?
A molecule that can act as a genetic material must fulfill the following
criteria:
(i) It should be able to generate its replica (Replication).
(ii) It should chemically and structurally be stable.
(iii) It should provide the scope for slow changes (mutation) that
are required for evolution.
(iv) It should be able to express itself in the form of 'Mendelian
Characters.
If one examines each requirement one by one, because of rule of base
pairing and complementarity, both the nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) have
the ability to direct their duplications. The other molecules in the living
system, such as proteins fail to fulfill first criteria itself.
The genetic material should be stable enough not to change with
different stages of life cycle, age or with change in physiology of the
organism. Stability as one of the properties of genetic material was very
evident in Griffiths transforming principle itself that heat, which killed
the bacteria, at least did not destroy some of the properties of genetic
material. This now can easily be explained in light of the DNA that the
two strands being complementary if separated by heating come together,
when appropriate conditions are provided. Further, 2' -OH group present
at every nucleotide in RNA is a reactive group and makes RNA labile and
easily degradable. RNA is also now known to be catalytic, hence reactive.
Therefore, DNA chemically is less reactive and structurally more stable
when compared to RNA. Therefore, among the two nucleic acids, the DNA
is a better genetic material.
In fact, the presence of thymine at the place of uracil also confers
additional stability to DNA. (Detailed discussion about this requires
understanding of the process of repair in DNA, and you will study these
processes in higher classes.)
Both DNA and RNA are able to mutate. In fact, RNA being unstable,
mutate at a faster rate. Consequently, viruses having RNA genome and 103
having shorter life span mutate and evolve faster.
RNA can directly code for the synthesis of proteins, hence can easily
express the characters. DNA, however, is dependent on RNA for synthesis
of proteins. The protein synthesising machinery has evolved around RNA.
The above discussion indicate that both RNA and DNA can function as
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genetic material, but DNA being more stable is preferred for storage of
genetic information. For the transmission of genetic information, RNA
is better.
6.4 REPLICATION
While proposing the double helical structure for DNA,
Watson and Crick had immediately proposed a scheme
for replication of DNA. To quote their original statement
that is as follows:
It has not escaped our notice that the specific
pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a
possible copying mechanism for the genetic material
(Watson and Crick, 1953).
The scheme suggested that the two strands would
separate and act as a template for the synthesis of new
Figure 6.6 Watson-Crick model for complementary strands. After the completion of
se m i c o n s e r v a t i v e D N A replication, each DNA molecule would have one
replication parental and one newly synthesised strand. This
scheme was termed as semiconservative DNA
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replication (Figure 6.6).
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and human cells. Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl performed the
following experiment in 1958:
(i) They grew E. coli in a medium containing 15NH4Cl (15N is the heavy
isotope of nitrogen) as the only nitrogen source for many
generations. The result was that 15N was incorporated into newly
synthesised DNA (as well as other nitrogen containing compounds).
This heavy DNA molecule could be distinguished from the normal
DNA by centrifugation in a cesium chloride (CsCl) density gradient
(Please note that 15N is not a radioactive isotope, and it can be
separated from 14N only based on densities).
(ii) Then they transferred the cells into a medium with normal
14
NH4Cl and took samples at various definite time intervals as
the cells multiplied, and extracted the DNA that remained as
double-stranded helices. The various samples were separated
independently on CsCl gradients to measure the densities of
DNA (Figure 6.7).
Can you recall what centrifugal force is, and think why a
molecule with higher mass/density would sediment faster?
The results are shown in Figure 6.7.
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6.5 TRANSCRIPTION
The process of copying genetic information from one
Figure 6.8 Replicating Fork
strand of the DNA into RNA is termed as
transcription. Here also, the principle of
complementarity governs the process of transcription, except the adenosine
now forms base pair with uracil instead of thymine. However, unlike in
the process of replication, which once set in, the total DNA of an organism
gets duplicated, in transcription only a segment of DNA and only one of
the strands is copied into RNA. This necessitates defining the boundaries
that would demarcate the region and the strand of DNA that would be
transcribed.
Why both the strands are not copied during transcription has the
simple answer. First, if both strands act as a template, they would code
for RNA molecule with different sequences (Remember complementarity
does not mean identical), and in turn, if they code for proteins, the sequence
of amino acids in the proteins would be different. Hence, one segment of
the DNA would be coding for two different proteins, and this would
complicate the genetic information transfer machinery. Second, the two
RNA molecules if produced simultaneously would be complementary to
each other, hence would form a double stranded RNA. This would prevent
RNA from being translated into protein and the exercise of transcription
would become a futile one.
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define a gene in terms of DNA sequence. The DNA sequence coding for
tRNA or rRNA molecule also define a gene. However by defining a cistron
as a segment of DNA coding for a polypeptide, the structural gene in a
transcription unit could be said as monocistronic (mostly in eukaryotes)
or polycistronic (mostly in bacteria or prokaryotes). In eukaryotes, the
monocistronic structural genes have interrupted coding sequences the
genes in eukaryotes are split. The coding sequences or expressed
sequences are defined as exons. Exons are said to be those sequence
that appear in mature or processed RNA. The exons are interrupted by
introns. Introns or intervening sequences do not appear in mature or
processed RNA. The split-gene arrangement further complicates the
definition of a gene in terms of a DNA segment.
Inheritance of a character is also affected by promoter and regulatory
sequences of a structural gene. Hence, sometime the regulatory sequences
are loosely defined as regulatory genes, even though these sequences do
not code for any RNA or protein.
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(28S, 18S, and 5.8S), whereas the RNA polymerase III is responsible
for transcription of tRNA, 5srRNA, and snRNAs (small nuclear
RNAs). The RNA polymerase II transcribes precursor of mRNA, the
heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA).
(ii) The second complexity is that the primary transcripts contain both
the exons and the introns and are non-functional. Hence, it is
subjected to a process called splicing where the introns are removed
and exons are joined in a defined order. hnRNA undergoes
additional processing called as capping and tailing. In capping an
unusual nucleotide (methyl guanosine triphosphate) is added to
the 5'-end of hnRNA. In tailing, adenylate residues (200-300) are
added at 3'-end in a template independent manner. It is the fully
processed hnRNA, now called mRNA, that is transported out of the
nucleus for translation (Figure 6.11).
The significance of such complexities is now beginning to be
understood. The split-gene arrangements represent probably an ancient
feature of the genome. The presence of introns is reminiscent of antiquity,
and the process of splicing represents the dominance of RNA-world. In
recent times, the understanding of RNA and RNA-dependent processes
in the living system have assumed more importance.
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Now try the opposite. Following is the sequence of amino acids coded
by an mRNA. Predict the nucleotide sequence in the RNA:
Met-Phe-Phe-Phe-Phe-Phe-Phe
Do you face any difficulty in predicting the opposite?
Can you now correlate which two properties of genetic code you have
learnt?
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6.7 TRANSLATION
Translation refers to the process of polymerisation of amino acids to
form a polypeptide (Figure 6.13). The order and sequence of amino acids
are defined by the sequence of bases in the mRNA. The amino acids are
joined by a bond which is known as a peptide bond. Formation of a
peptide bond requires energy. Therefore, in the first phase itself amino
114 acids are activated in the presence of ATP and linked to their cognate
tRNA a process commonly called as charging of tRNA or
aminoacylation of tRNA to be more specific. If two such charged tRNAs
are brought close enough, the formation of peptide bond between them
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Goals of HGP
Some of the important goals of HGP were as follows:
(i) Identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA;
(ii) Determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that
make up human DNA;
(iiii) Store this information in databases;
(iv) Improve tools for data analysis;
(v) Transfer related technologies to other sectors, such as industries;
(vi) Address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise
from the project.
The Human Genome Project was a 13-year project coordinated by
118 the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institute of Health. During
the early years of the HGP, the Wellcome Trust (U.K.) became a major
partner; additional contributions came from Japan, France, Germany,
China and others. The project was completed in 2003. Knowledge about
the effects of DNA variations among individuals can lead to revolutionary
new ways to diagnose, treat and someday prevent the thousands of
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broader scale. They can study all the genes in a genome, for example, all
the transcripts in a particular tissue or organ or tumor, or how tens of
thousands of genes and proteins work together in interconnected networks
to orchestrate the chemistry of life.
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science, it has much wider application, such as in determining
population and genetic diversities. Currently, many different probes
are used to generate DNA fingerprints.
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SUMMARY
Nucleic acids are long polymers of nucleotides. While DNA stores genetic
information, RNA mostly helps in transfer and expression of information.
Though DNA and RNA both function as genetic material, but DNA being
chemically and structurally more stable is a better genetic material.
However, RNA is the first to evolve and DNA was derived from RNA. The
hallmark of the double stranded helical structure of DNA is the hydrogen
bonding between the bases from opposite strands. The rule is that
Adenine pairs with Thymine through two H-bonds, and Guanine with
Cytosine through three H-bonds. This makes one strand
complementary to the other. The DNA replicates semiconservatively,
the process is guided by the complementary H-bonding. A segment of
DNA that codes for RNA may in a simplistic term can be referred as
gene. During transcription also, one of the strands of DNA acts a
template to direct the synthesis of complementary RNA. In bacteria,
the transcribed mRNA is functional, hence can directly be translated.
In eukaryotes, the gene is split. The coding sequences, exons, are
interrupted by non-coding sequences, introns. Introns are removed
and exons are joined to produce functional RNA by splicing. The
messenger RNA contains the base sequences that are read in a
combination of three (to make triplet genetic code) to code for an amino
acid. The genetic code is read again on the principle of complementarity
by tRNA that acts as an adapter molecule. There are specific tRNAs for
every amino acid. The tRNA binds to specific amino acid at one end
and pairs through H-bonding with codes on mRNA through its
anticodons. The site of translation (protein synthesis) is ribosomes,
which bind to mRNA and provide platform for joining of amino acids.
One of the rRNA acts as a catalyst for peptide bond formation, which is
an example of RNA enzyme (ribozyme). Translation is a process that
has evolved around RNA, indicating that life began around RNA. Since,
transcription and translation are energetically very expensive
processes, these have to be tightly regulated. Regulation of transcription
is the primary step for regulation of gene expression. In bacteria, more
than one gene is arranged together and regulated in units called as
operons. Lac operon is the prototype operon in bacteria, which codes
for genes responsible for metabolism of lactose. The operon is regulated
by the amount of lactose in the medium where the bacteria are grown.
Therefore, this regulation can also be viewed as regulation of enzyme
synthesis by its substrate.
Human genome project was a mega project that aimed to sequence
every base in human genome. This project has yielded much new
124 information. Many new areas and avenues have opened up as a
consequence of the project. DNA Fingerprinting is a technique to find
out variations in individuals of a population at DNA level. It works on
the principle of polymorphism in DNA sequences. It has immense
applications in the field of forensic science, genetic biodiversity and
evolutionary biology.
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EXERCISES
1 Group the following as nitrogenous bases and nucleosides:
Adenine, Cytidine, Thymine, Guanosine, Uracil and Cytosine.
2. If a double stranded DNA has 20 per cent of cytosine, calculate the per
cent of adenine in the DNA.
3. If the sequence of one strand of DNA is written as follows:
5' -ATGCATGCATGCATGCATGCATGCATGC-3'
Write down the sequence of complementary strand in 5' 3' direction.
4. If the sequence of the coding strand in a transcription unit is written
as follows:
5' -ATGCATGCATGCATGCATGCATGCATGC-3'
Write down the sequence of mRNA.
5. Which property of DNA double helix led Watson and Crick to hypothesise
semi-conservative mode of DNA replication? Explain.
6. Depending upon the chemical nature of the template (DNA or RNA)
and the nature of nucleic acids synthesised from it (DNA or RNA), list
the types of nucleic acid polymerases.
7. How did Hershey and Chase differentiate between DNA and protein in
their experiment while proving that DNA is the genetic material?
8. Differentiate between the followings:
(a) Repetitive DNA and Satellite DNA
(b) mRNA and tRNA
(c) Template strand and Coding strand
9. List two essential roles of ribosome during translation.
10. In the medium where E. coli was growing, lactose was added, which
induced the lac operon. Then, why does lac operon shut down some
time after addition of lactose in the medium?
11. Explain (in one or two lines) the function of the followings:
(a) Promoter
(b) tRNA
(c) Exons
12. Why is the Human Genome project called a mega project?
13. What is DNA fingerprinting? Mention its application.
14. Briefly describe the following:
(a) Transcription 125
(b) Polymorphism
(c) Translation
(d) Bioinformatics
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