Chapter 1.4: Genetic Foundations

• Genetic information is encoded in DNA.
• Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, is comprised of a sequence of deoxyribonucleotides, or monomeric subunits.
• DNA encodes the instructions for forming all other cellular components.
• DNA provides a template to produce identical DNA molecules.
• DNA of E. coli is a single molecule containing 4.64 million nucleotide pairs. They must be replicated perfectly to give rise to identical cell division.
• The structure of DNA allows its replication and repair with near perfect fidelity.
• Deoxyribonucleotides are the monomeric subunit that makes up the DNA polymer.
• Each deoxyribonucleotide in one strand pairs specifically with a complementary deoxyribonucleotide in the opposite strand.
• DNA stands are held together by hydrogen bonds.
• The linear sequence in DNA encodes proteins with a three dimensional structures.
• Native conformation is the precise three dimensional structure of a protein and it crucial to protein function.
• The DNA sequence of a gene for a protein ultimately determines the amino acid sequence of a protein.