LIF101 Midsem answer sheets will be shown on

Monday, 29th September at 6:00 PM.

Venuw: L7

Amitabha
 Course webpage: http://home.iitk.ac.in/~sganesh/LIF101/

Reading materials: http://home.iitk.ac.in/~sganesh/LIF101/files/

DNA Structure and Function

Topics for discussion:

Discovery of DNA function

DNA structure

DNA replication and repair

Watons and Crick, 1953

Duplication
Duplication

Nucleosome
Length of DNA in one human cell = ~6 feet!
Nucleus: >10 micrometres in diameter!

Nucleosome
Length of DNA in one human cell = ~6 feet!
Nucleus: >10 micrometres in diameter!

Nucleosome
Chromosomes and Inheritance Paternal: P
Maternal: M
Karyotype

Since genes are P

M
carried on
M
chromosomes, P
knowledge of
chromosome number
and structure has far-
reaching implications
for basic genetics,
human health, and
evolution.

A normal human male

karyotype.
Chromosomes and Inheritance Paternal: P
Maternal: M
Karyotype

Since genes are P

M
carried on
M
chromosomes, P
knowledge of
chromosome number
and structure has far-
reaching implications
for basic genetics,
human health, and
evolution.

“Autosomes” Vs
“sex chormosomes”

Sex chromosomes
Sex chromosomes and sex determination
 Chromosome number, variation and “phenotype”

Identical twins

Non-identical twins
Tyrannosaurus
 Fossil (amber)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMsJe3TymqY
What made people to believe that DNA is the genetic material?
 What made people to believe that DNA is the genetic material?
Lung disease pneumonia
1928: Frderick Griffith Streptococcus pneumoniae (bacterium)
Rough (R) – nonpathogenic
Two strains: < Smooth (S) - pathogenic
 What made people to believe that DNA is the genetic material?
Lung disease pneumonia
1928: Frderick Griffith Streptococcus pneumoniae (bacterium)
Rough (R) – nonpathogenic
Two strains: < Smooth (S) - pathogenic
Figure 16.2a The Hershey-Chase experiment: phages
Figure 16.2b The Hershey-Chase experiment
Figure 16.2b The Hershey-Chase experiment
Life cycle of bacteriophage
Figure 16.3 The structure of a DNA stand
Figure 16.5 The double helix
 Rosalind Franklin , 1952

Nobel Prize 1962

Watons and Crick, 1953

Figure 16.6 Base pairing in DNA

“It has not escaped our

notice that the specific
pairing we have postulated
immediately suggests a
possible copying
mechanism for the genetic
material..”
The bonding pattern (A to T, G to C) is the same in all molecules of DNA.
However, which base pair follows the next differs among species, and among
individuals of the same species.

The information coded by that sequence is the basis of visible traits that define
species and distinguish individuals.
Figure 16.7 A model for DNA replication: the basic concept (Layer 1)
Figure 16.7 A model for DNA replication: the basic concept (Layer 2)
Figure 16.7 A model for DNA replication: the basic concept (Layer 3)
Figure 16.7 A model for DNA replication: the basic concept (Layer 4)
Figure 16.12 The two strands of DNA are antiparallel
Figure 16.13 Synthesis of leading and lagging strands during DNA replication
Figure 16.14 Priming DNA synthesis with RNA
 Figure 16.16 A summary of DNA replication

Errors and Repairs

Errors and Repairs
 Errors and Repairs

Brain versus Brawn!

Myosin gene (MYH16 ) mutation

correlates with anatomical
changes in the human lineage
 Our hands helped our brain to grow bigger?
Or that our brain helped us to use the hand better?
Cloning mammals – reprogramming DNA?
Somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)
Cloning humans?

Therapeutic advances

“Epigenetics”
Questions for discussion:

1. Many bacteria may able to respond to environmental stress by increasing

the rate at which mutations occur during cell division. How might this be
accomplished, and what might be an evolutionary advantage of this ability?

2. Mutations are permanent changes in a cell’s DNA base sequence. They

typically have negative consequences, but they are also the source of
genetic variation and the raw material of evolution. How can mutations
accumulate, given that cells have repair systems that fix changes or breaks
in DNA strands?