CH 6

Molecular Basis of Inheritance
 A nucleotide contains three components –
1. Nitrogenous base
2. Pentose sugar
3. Phosphate group
 Nucleoside contains a nitrogenous base linked to pentose sugar.

 Two types of nitrogenous bases –
1. Purine – Adenine and guanine

2. Pyrimidine – Cytosine, uracil and thymine
 The nitrogenous bases present in DNA are adenine, cytosine, thymine and guanine. In RNA,
thymine is replaced by uracil.
 Polynucleotide chain is formed when more than two nucleotides are linked together
through 3’ – 5’ phosphodiester linkages.
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)
 DNA is a double-helical structure with anti-parallel strands. Both strands are

complementary to each other.
 Double-helix DNA structure was proposed by James Watson and Francis Crick.
 Adenine always pairs with thymine, with two hydrogen bonds while guanine pairs with
cytosine, with three hydrogen bonds.
 Length of dsDNA helix in mammalian cells
= Total number of base pairs Distance between two base pairs

= ~2.2 metres
 Nucleosome is DNA wrapped around histone octamer.
 Chromatin comprises DNA and basic proteins called histones.
 There are two types of chromatin –
1. Euchromatin: Loosely packed chromatin that is transcriptionally active

2. Heterochromatin: Densely packed chromatin that is transcriptionally inactive
 Griffith worked on Streptococcus pneumonia and found that certain transforming principle
s got transferred from the heatkilled S strains of bacteria to the live R strain, and made the
m virulent.
 Avery, MacLeod and McCarty concluded that DNA, and not the protein, is the genetic mat
erial that leads to bacterial transformation.
 Harshey and Chase conducted experiment on bacteriophage and confirmed that DNA is th
e genetic material in these viruses.
 Presence of 2’ OH group on RNA makes it easily degradable; hence, less stable. Therefore, D
NA is structurally more stable than RNA, and hence, is used as genetic material.
DNA Replication
 DNA replicates itself by the process of replication.
 The enzyme required for the replication is DNA-dependent DNA polymerase. It catalyses
polymerisation only in the 5’ 3’ direction.
 The process of DNA replication is discontinuous on the template strand with polarity 5’ 3’
 The generated discontinuous fragments are later on joined by DNA ligase to form a
continuous DNA strand.
RNA
 There are three types of RNA –
o Messenger RNA (mRNA): Provides template to initiate translation

o Transfer RNA (tRNA): Brings amino acids to mRNA; also known as adapter molecule
o Ribosomal RNA (rRNA): Has structural and catalytic role during translation
 Transcription is the process of transferring genetic information from DNA to RNA. Only on
e DNA strand is copied into mRNA.
 A transcription unit extends from the promoter to the terminator region.
 Transcription of the DNA template strand produces an RNA transcript with the same seque
nce as a non-template strand (coding strand).
 Eukaryotic gene is monocistronic while prokaryotic gene is polycistronic.

 Eukaryotic gene is made up of coding sequences (exons) and non-
coding sequences (introns).
 Process of transcription
o It involves three steps: initiation, elongation and termination.

o The enzyme involved in transcription is DNA–dependent RNA polymerase.
o The enzyme RNA polymerase associates with the initiation factor ( ) and the termination f
actor ( ) to respectively initiate and terminate the process of transcription.
o In eukaryotes, there are three types of RNA polymerase in the nucleus –
o RNA polymerase I: Transcribes rRNAs

o RNA polymerase II: Transcribes precursor of mRNA, i.e., hnRNA
o RNA polymerase III: Transcribes tRNA 5srRNA, snRNAs
Genetic code
 It is the order of nucleotides in a DNA molecule.
 Features of genetic code –
o Triplet
o Universal
o Degenerate
o Non-ambiguous
o Commaless
o Initiation codon is AUG (Methionine) and termination codons are UAA, UGA and UAG.
 Codon: It is the triplet nucleotide base present on mRNA.
Mutation
 It is the sudden change in genotype due to the alteration in DNA sequences.
 Mutation and recombination brings variation in DNA.
 Point mutation arises due to the change in a single base pair in DNA; for example, sickle-
cell anaemia.
 Frame shift mutation arises due to deletion and insertion of base pairs.
 Mutagens are factors that induce mutations; for example, UV radiation.
 Inheritable mutations can be studied by pedigree analysis
Translation
 It is the process of polymerisation of amino acid sequence to synthesise a polypeptide chai

n.
 It involves three steps –
o Initiation: It involves binding of ribosome to mRNA.

o Elongation: Amino acylated tRNA binds to appropriate codon in mRNA. Ribosomal RNA ac
ts as a catalyst for peptide bond formation.
o Termination: A release factor binds to the stop codon and terminates the process of transl
ation.
Lac Operon
 It contains four different genes –

o Regulator gene: i gene
o Operator gene
o Promoter gene
o Structural gene: z, y and a
 In the presence of inducers such as lactose, proteins are synthesised.
 In the absence of inducers, proteins are not synthesised.
 Regulation of lac operon by repressor is negative regulation.
DNA fingerprinting
 It is the technique to find variations in an individual at DNA level. It is based on the principl
e of DNA polymorphism.
 DNA fingerprinting was developed by Alec Jeffreys.
 Polymorphism: It is the variation at DNA level due to mutation. These variations accumula
te and give rise to new species.
 Application of DNA fingerprinting –
o Forensic science
o Genetic biodiversity
o Evolutionary biology

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Molecular Basis of Inheritance

 A nucleotide contains three components –

 Nucleoside contains a nitrogenous base linked to pentose sugar.

1. Purine – Adenine and guanine

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)

 DNA is a double-helical structure with anti-parallel strands. Both strands are

 Length of dsDNA helix in mammalian cells

= Total number of base pairs Distance between two base pairs

 Nucleosome is DNA wrapped around histone octamer.

 Chromatin comprises DNA and basic proteins called histones.

 There are two types of chromatin –

1. Euchromatin: Loosely packed chromatin that is transcriptionally active

 DNA replicates itself by the process of replication.

o Messenger RNA (mRNA): Provides template to initiate translation

 Eukaryotic gene is monocistronic while prokaryotic gene is polycistronic.

o It involves three steps: initiation, elongation and termination.

o In eukaryotes, there are three types of RNA polymerase in the nucleus –

o RNA polymerase I: Transcribes rRNAs

 It is the order of nucleotides in a DNA molecule.

 Features of genetic code –

 Codon: It is the triplet nucleotide base present on mRNA.

 Mutation and recombination brings variation in DNA.

 Mutagens are factors that induce mutations; for example, UV radiation.

 Inheritable mutations can be studied by pedigree analysis

 It is the process of polymerisation of amino acid sequence to synthesise a polypeptide chai

o Initiation: It involves binding of ribosome to mRNA.

 It contains four different genes –

 In the presence of inducers such as lactose, proteins are synthesised.

 In the absence of inducers, proteins are not synthesised.

 Regulation of lac operon by repressor is negative regulation.

 DNA fingerprinting was developed by Alec Jeffreys.

 Application of DNA fingerprinting –

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