DNA and Chromosomes

• DNA stands for DeoxyriboNucleic Acid and is the chemical that all of our genetic material is made up of

  -

  It consists of a Double Helix Structure
• A Gene is a small section of DNA that codes for a specific protein
• A Gene can code for a sequence of Amino Acids which make up a whole Protein

  A) Chromosome

  B) Amino Acids

  C) Protein

  
• A Genome is the entire set of genetic material in an organism, including all the Genes and the DNA that controls them
• DNA Duplicated:

  A) Duplicated

  B) Division

  C) Not

  
• Protein Synthesis is the process of making Proteins. This happens in two stages:

  1. Transcription
  2. Translation
• TranSCRIPTION is the process of taking a single Gene from our DNA and copying it into a structure called mRNA
• TransLATION is the process of taking a mRNA strand and converting it into a Protein
• mRNA (Messenger RNA) is....

  • Much shorter than DNA
  • Only a single strand
  • The base Uracil REPLACES Thymine
  • So Adenine bonds with Uracil (A - U)
• 1)TRANSCRIPTION (making mRNA):

  1. The enzyme RNA Polymerase binds to a region of non-coding DNA, and unzips the DNA strand
  2. It uses the coding DNA in the Gene as a 'template' to make the mRNA. Base Pairing between DNA and RNA makes sure that the mRNA is complementary to the gene
  3. Once made, the mRNA moves out of the Nucleus and joins with a Ribosome, the site of Protein Synthesis

  
• 2)TRANSLATION (making Protein)

  1. Amino Acids are brought to the Ribosome by tRNA (Transfer RNA), and the order in which Amino Acids are brought matches the order of the Codons in mRNA
  2. tRNA has Anticodons which are complementary to the codons for the Amino Acids.
  3. The pairing of the Codon and the Anticodon makes sure that the Amino Acids are brought to the Ribosome in the correct order
  4. The Amino Acids are joined together by the Ribosome and this makes a Protein