Chapter Summary

DNA was first isolated from white blood cells by Friedrich Miescher, who called it nuclein because it was isolated from nuclei. Frederick Griffith's experiments with strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae provided the first hint that DNA may be the transforming principle. Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty showed that DNA is required for the transformation of bacteria. Later experiments by Hershey and Chase using bacteriophage T2 proved that DNA is the genetic material. Chargaff found that the ratio of A = T and C = G, and that the percentage content of A, T, G, and C is different for different species.

The currently accepted model of the double-helix structure of DNA was proposed by Watson and Crick. Some of the salient features are that the two strands that make up the double helix have complementary base sequences and anti-parallel orientations. Alternating deoxyribose sugars and phosphates form the backbone of the structure, and the nitrogenous bases are stacked like rungs inside. The diameter of the double helix, 2 nm, is uniform throughout. A purine always pairs with a pyrimidine; A pairs with T, and G pairs with C. One turn of the helix has 10 base pairs. Prokaryotes are much simpler than eukaryotes in many of their features. Most prokaryotes contain a single, circular chromosome. In general, eukaryotic chromosomes contain a linear DNA molecule packaged into nucleosomes, and have two distinct regions that can be distinguished by staining, reflecting different states of packaging and compaction.

During cell division, each daughter cell receives a copy of each molecule of DNA by a process known as DNA replication. The single chromosome of a prokaryote or each chromosome of a eukaryote consists of a single continuous double helix. The model for DNA replication suggests that the two strands of the double helix separate during replication, and each strand serves as a template from which the new complementary strand is copied. In the conservative model of replication, the parental DNA is conserved, and the daughter DNA is newly synthesized. The semi-conservative model suggests that each of the two parental DNA strands acts as template for new DNA to be synthesized; after replication, each double-stranded DNA retains the parental or “old” strand and one “new” strand. The dispersive model suggested that the two copies of the DNA would have segments of parental DNA and newly synthesized DNA. The Meselson and Stahl experiment supported the semi-conservative model of replication, in which an entire replicated chromosome consists of one parental strand and one newly synthesized strand of DNA.

Replication in prokaryotes starts from a sequence found on the chromosome called the origin of replication—the point at which the DNA opens up. Helicase opens up the DNA double helix, resulting in the formation of the replication fork. Single-strand binding proteins bind to the single-stranded DNA near the replication fork to keep the fork open. Primase synthesizes an RNA primer to initiate synthesis by DNA polymerase, which can add nucleotides only to the 3' end of a previously synthesized primer strand. Both new DNA strands grow according to their respective 5'-3' directions. One strand is synthesized continuously in the direction of the replication fork; this is called the leading strand. The other strand is synthesized in a direction away from the replication fork, in short stretches of DNA known as Okazaki fragments. This strand is known as the lagging strand. Once replication is completed, the RNA primers are replaced by DNA nucleotides and the DNA is sealed with DNA ligase, which creates phosphodiester bonds between the 3'-OH of one end and the 5' phosphate of the other strand.

Replication in eukaryotes starts at multiple origins of replication. The mechanism is quite similar to that in prokaryotes. A primer is required to initiate synthesis, which is then extended by DNA polymerase as it adds nucleotides one by one to the growing chain. The leading strand is synthesized continuously, whereas the lagging strand is synthesized in short stretches called Okazaki fragments. The RNA primers are replaced with DNA nucleotides; the DNA Okazaki fragments are linked into one continuous strand by DNA ligase. The ends of the chromosomes pose a problem as the primer RNA at the 5’ ends of the DNA cannot be replaced with DNA, and the chromosome is progressively shortened. Telomerase, an enzyme with an inbuilt RNA template, extends the ends by copying the RNA template and extending one strand of the chromosome. DNA polymerase can then fill in the complementary DNA strand using the regular replication enzymes. In this way, the ends of the chromosomes are protected.

DNA polymerase can make mistakes while adding nucleotides. It edits the DNA by proofreading every newly added base. Incorrect bases are removed and replaced by the correct base before proceeding with elongation. Most mistakes are corrected during replication, although when this does not happen, the mismatch repair mechanism is employed. Mismatch repair enzymes recognize the wrongly incorporated base and excise it from the DNA, replacing it with the correct base. In yet another type of repair, nucleotide excision repair, a damaged base is removed along with a few bases on the 5' and 3' end, and these are replaced by copying the template with the help of DNA polymerase. The ends of the newly synthesized fragment are attached to the rest of the DNA using DNA ligase, which creates a phosphodiester bond.

Most mistakes are corrected, and if they are not, they may result in a mutation, defined as a permanent change in the DNA sequence. Mutations can be of many types, such as substitution, deletion, insertion, and trinucleotide repeat expansions. Mutations in repair genes may lead to serious consequences such as cancer. Mutations can be induced or may occur spontaneously.