DNA and Gene

Expression
DNA
 Deoxyribonucleic Acid
 Double helix
 Carries genetic information
 Located in the nucleus
 The monomer is a
nucleotide
– A phosphate
– A ribose sugar
– A nitrogenous base
What are the bases in DNA
 A – adenine
 T – thymine
 C – cytosine
 G – guanine
 Base pair rules
Where is DNA located in the
Cell?
 Where are the genes located?

 Genes are located on

the chromosomes.
 Every species has a
different number of
chromosomes.
 There are two types
of chromosomes:
autosomes and sex
chromosomes
 Genes are located on the chromosomes
which are found in the nucleus of a cell.
 When a cell is undergoing cell reproduction,
the chromosomes are visible.
Chromosomes appear when the chromatin
condenses and become visible.
 Most of the time (90%) the genetic material
in the form of chromatin.
 A genome is the complete genetic
information contained in an individual.
– (gene + chromosome)
 What is gene expression?
Gene expression is
the activation of a
gene that results in
a protein.
 Gene expression takes place
differently in prokaryotes and
eukaryotes. What is a
prokaryotes? Eukaryotes?
 Prokaryotes  Eukaryotes
– No membrane – Membrane bound
bound organelles organelles ( specialize in
(nucleus) function –nucleus,
– More primitive mitochondria,
organisms chloroplast)
– Chromosomes are in
– Only one circular
pairs and not circular
chromosome
– All organisms that are
– Bacteria are the not bacteria: protist,
only organisms that fungi, plants and
are prokaryotes. animals
 In Eukaryotes, following mitosis or meiosis,
DNA recoils but certain regions remain
relaxed for transcription. The areas of
relaxed DNA are called euchromatin.
 Transcription is the

Reading of the DNA and

Changing the code to
mRNA.
 Translation is changing

The mRNA into a trait by

Using tRNA to interpret the
mRNA.
  DNA in eukaryotes has regions of coding
and noncoding DNA. The regions of DNA
that code for proteins or traits are called
EXONS, while the regions that do not
code for proteins are called INTRONS.

cytoplasm
cytoplasm
 In prokayotes, transcription and
translation occur in the cytoplasm.
 In eukaryotes, transcription occurs
inside the nucleus in a two step
sequence of events.
– Pre-mRNA includes both introns and exons
for the gene.
– mRNA is only the coding portion (exons).
 Translation
occurs in the cytoplasm at
the ribosomes.
– Reminder: The are three (3) types of RNA
 Messenager (mRNA)
 Transfer (tRNA)
 Ribsomal (rRNA)
 Translation
 RNA
– Single stranded
– Does not contain
thymine but has uracil
instead.
 tRNA carries 3 base
pair code for specific
amino acid.
 Amino acids compose
polypeptid chains.
 One or more
polypeptide chains
compose a protein
 proteins provide the
“blueprints” for our
characteristics and
functions.
 In Prokaryotes there are three (3)
regulatory elements that control
gene expression.

1. Structural genes – genes that code for

a specific polypeptide (protein).
2. Promoter – DNA segment that
recognizes RNA polymerase.
3. Operator – element that serves as a
binding site for an inhibitor protein that
blocks transcription.
Enhancer Control
 Eukaryote genes on a
DNA strand also have
noncoding control
sequences that
facilitate
transcription.
 These are called
enhancers.
 Transcription factors
are additional
proteins that bind to
RNA polymerase and
enhancers to help
with transcription.
 Cell Differentiation
 Cell
differentiation is the
development of cells into cells with
specialized functions.
– Examples: muscle cells, liver cell, red
blood cells
 Asorganisms grow and develop,
organs and tissues develop to
produce a characteristic form. The
process is call morphogenesis.
 Homeotic Genes
 Homeotic genes are
regulatory genes that
determine where certain
anatomical structures, such
as appendages, will develop
in an organism during
morphogenesis.
 These seem to be the
master genes of
development

Normal Mutant with legs

growing out of head
 Homeobox
 In Drosophila (fruit
flies) the specific DNA
sequence within a
homeotic gene that
regulates patterns of
development is the
homeobox.
 The same or very
similar homeobox
sequences have been
found in many other
eukaryotic organisms
 Cancer
 Leading cause of death in the United
States
 A genetic disease caused by a
mutation in the genes that control
cell division
 Tumor – abnormal proliferation of
cells that results from uncontrolled,
abnormal cell division
 Benign – a tumor that remains within a
mass
 Malignant tumor- uncontrolled dividing
cells that invade and destroy healthy
tissue elsewhere in the body
 Metastasis – spread of cancer cells
beyond their original site
 Kinds of Cancer
 Carcinomas – grow in skin and tissues
that line the organs of the body
– Example: lung and breast
 Sarcomas – grow in bone and muscle
tissue
 Lymphomas – solid tumors that grow in
tissues that form blood cells
– Example: leukemia
 In normal cells, that frequency of
cell division is governed by
several factors:
1. Adequate nutrition
2. Attachment to other cells,
membranes or fibers
3. Division stops if cell become
crowded (usually after 20 – 50)
divisions

 Cancer cell continue dividing and

ignore the normal messages to
stop dividing.
 What Causes Cancer?
 Mutations that alter the genes
coding for growth factors.
May occur spontaneously
Result from exposure to an carcinogen
( any substance that increases the
risk of cancer.)
 Usually there is more than one
mutation.
 There are two types of genes that
control cell division
Proto-oncogens
Tumor suppressing genes (p53 gene)