DNA
Hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms
DNA is....
- DNA is located in the nucleus and a small amount can be found in the mitochondria.
- It is made of heredity material in humans.
- DNA is a double helix formed by base pairs attached to a sugar-phosphate backbone.
Structure of DNA
The structure of DNA is illustrated by a right handed double helix, with about 10 nucleotide pairs per helical turn.
Two Views
Each spiraling strand, comprised of a sugar-phosphate backbone and attached bases, is connected to a complementary strand by non-covalent hydrogen bonding between paired bases.
DNA profiling
Using DNA fingerprints helps with solving crimes.
DNA replication animation
DNA replication animation by interact Medical
What does DNA do?
- All organisms inherit the genetic information specifying their structure and function from their parents.
- DNA replication begins with the "unzipping" of the parent molecule as the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs are broken.
- The journey from gene to protein is complex and tightly controlled within each cell. It consists of two major steps: transcription and translation. Together, transcription and translation are known as gene expression.
What is RNA?
- mRNA or Messenger RNA
mRNA transcribes the genetic code from DNA into a form that can be read and used to make proteins. mRNA carries genetic information from the nucleus to the cytoplasm of a cell. - rRNA or Ribosomal RNA
rRNA is located in the cytoplasm of a cell, where ribosomes are found. rRNA directs the translation of mRNA into proteins. - tRNA or Transfer RNA
Like rRNA, tRNA is located in the cellular cytoplasm and is involved in protein synthesis. Transfer RNA brings or transfers amino acids to the ribosome that correspond to each three-nucleotide codon of rRNA. The amino acids then can be joined together and processed to make polypeptides and proteins.
What does RNA do?
it is essential for the information in DNA to remain stable. You can think of the DNA as the "master copy" of a computer program.