Name: dna structure and base pairing
Uploaded: 2020-11-23T11:47:33.000Z
Duration: 1 min 27 s
Channel: JoVE

K12 Standards

Minnesota Academic Standards in Science

9-12

Life Science

1.1.1 9L.1.1.1.1

The DNA Helix

Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is made up of two polynucleotide chains.Each chain has repeating units called nucleotides, and there are four types of nucleotides.Each nucleotide has three parts: a phosphate group, a sugar called deoxyribose, and one of four bases&#x2014;adenine or A, cytosine or C, guanine or G, or thymine or T.The sugar and phosphate groups form the sugar-phosphate backbone, while the bases extend from this backbone.Along the backbone of each strand, phosphodiester bonds link the 3&#x2032; carbon of one sugar to the phosphate group attached to the 5&#x2032; carbon of the next sugar in the chain.The two strands run in opposite directions, forming an antiparallel arrangement and the bases pair in a specific way: adenine pairs with thymine and cytosine pairs with guanine. These pairs are held together by hydrogen bonds.The arrangement of base pairs and the sugar-phosphate backbone causes the DNA strands to twist around each other and form a three-dimensional double helix with about ten base pairs per turn.

the dna helix

Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the genetic material responsible for passing traits from generation to generation in all organisms and most viruses. DNA is composed of two strands of nucleotides that wind around each other to form a double helix. The discovery of the structure of DNA occurred incrementally over nearly a century, representing one of the most famous and captivating stories in the history of science.<h4>DNA Structure in Detail</h4>Each strand of DNA consists of subunits called nucleotides that contain the sugar deoxyribose, a phosphate group, and one of four nitrogen-containing bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Adenine and guanine are members of a larger class of chemicals called purines that all contain two-ringed structures. Cytosine and thymine belong to a group of single-ringed structures called pyrimidines.Adjacent nucleotides in the same strand are covalently linked by phosphodiester bonds. The two strands of nucleotides are held together by hydrogen bonds, in which the adenines in one strand pair with thymines at the same position in the other strand, and the cytosines in one strand pair with guanines in the same position in the other strand. This hydrogen bonding is made possible by the antiparallel arrangement of the two DNA strands, in which the 5&#x2019; and 3&#x2019; ends of the strands are oriented in opposite directions. Without this arrangement, the nucleotides would be in the wrong position to form hydrogen bonds between strands.The two strands of the DNA molecule are tightly wound into a spring-like structure called a double helix. However, the double helix is not perfectly symmetrical. Instead, there are regularly occurring grooves in the structure. The major groove occurs where the sugar-phosphate backbones are relatively far apart. This space grants access to DNA-binding proteins, such as transcription factors. The minor groove, by contrast, occurs where the sugar-phosphate backbones are close together. Relatively few proteins bind to DNA via the minor groove.<h4>The Discovery of DNA Structure: A Brief History</h4>The story of the discovery of DNA structure begins in 1869 when Swiss scientist Friedrich Miescher discovered a substance he called &#x201C;nuclein&#x201D;. In the process of extracting protein from white blood cells, Miescher found an unexpected substance that had relatively high phosphorus content. He did not know what it was, but he suspected that it could be biologically important. Miescher was right, but it took decades for the scientific community to fully appreciate his insights.The next critical discovery was made by Russian biochemist Phoebus Levene. In 1919, Levene proposed that nuclein, by then known as a nucleic acid, was composed of chains of molecules that he called polynucleotides. Levene&#x2019;s proposal stemmed from his research on yeast, in which he found that individual nucleotides were composed of a phosphate group, a sugar, and a nitrogen-containing base. Although Levene&#x2019;s polynucleotide model was correct in many respects, it was still unclear how the bases were arranged in the DNA molecule.The Austrian biochemist Erwin Chargaff expanded on the work of Levene. Working in the late 1940s, Chargaff made a key finding: the amount of adenine in DNA is always roughly equal to the amount of thymine, and the amount of guanine is always roughly equal to the amount of cytosine. This pattern became known as Chargaff&#x2019;s Rule and was a key piece of evidence that enabled the final elucidation of DNA structure.In the early 1950s, American biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick were racing their chief rival, American Linus Pauling, to discover the three-dimensional structure of DNA. Building on the work of Chargaff, they used knowledge of physics, mathematics, and chemistry to construct physical models of DNA. But they were unsuccessful until they received a critical piece of data: an X-ray &#x2018;photograph&#x2019; of DNA that indicated in precise detail its double-helical structure. This photograph was the unpublished data of physicist Rosalind Franklin and was given to Watson and Crick without Franklin&#x2019;s knowledge. Watson and Crick published their description of DNA structure in 1953, and together with Maurice Wilkins (a co-worker of Franklin&#x2019;s), they won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this discovery. Sadly, Franklin died in 1958 and was therefore ineligible for a Nobel Prize.

Overview

Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the genetic material responsible for passing traits from generation to generation in all organisms and most ...

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Education

JoVE Core

Molecular Biology

Unit 1

DNA, Cells, and Evolution

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

dna structure and base pairing

DNA has a helical structure that helps store genetic information. The double helix is the shape formed by two strands that twist around each other. This structure is a key feature of DNA in cells.

The two strands are held together by base pairing. Bases on one strand match with bases on the other strand in a regular way. This pairing helps keep the DNA molecule stable and organized.

The helix shape also helps explain how DNA fits into chromosomes and carries instructions for living things. By studying the DNA helix, students can connect molecular structure with heredity and genetic information.

DNA Structure and Base Pairing

DNA has a helical structure that helps store genetic information. The double helix is the shape formed by two strands that twist around each other. This structure is a key feature of DNA in cells. The two strands are held together by base pairing. Bases on one strand match with bases on the other strand in a regular way. This pairing helps keep the DNA molecule stable and organized. The helix shape also helps explain how DNA fits into chromosomes and carries instructions for living things. By...

the central dogma

DNA to Protein: Central Dogma Steps

The central dogma explains how genetic information moves from DNA to RNA to protein. This flow is a key idea in molecular biology. It helps show how cells use genes to make the molecules that carry out work. DNA stores the instructions for making proteins. During transcription, a gene in DNA is copied into RNA. The RNA then carries that message to the next stage. In translation, the RNA message is used to build a protein. Proteins do much of the cell’s work, so this process connects genes to...

prokaryotic cells

Inside Prokaryotic Cell Structure

Prokaryotic cells have a simple internal structure compared with many other cells. They are usually divided into two groups: bacteria and archaea. These cells have no nucleus, so their DNA is not enclosed in a membrane-bound compartment. Instead, the genetic material is found in the nucleoid, a region where the DNA is located in the cell. Some prokaryotic cells also contain plasmids, which are small extra DNA molecules. A capsule may surround the cell and provide an additional outer layer. <br...

eukaryotic compartmentalization

Cell Compartments in Eukaryotes

Eukaryotic cells use compartments to organize many different jobs inside one cell. These compartments help separate processes so they can happen in the right place. The compartment called the cytosol is the fluid part of the cell. It surrounds the other internal structures and helps support many cell processes. Inside the cell, membrane-bound organelles create distinct microenvironments. A microenvironment is a small internal space with conditions that fit a specific task. This separation...

the tree of life - bacteria, archaea, eukaryotes

the-tree-of-life-bacteria-archaea-eukaryotes

How Life Is Classified Into Three Domains

The tree of life shows how organisms are related through evolution. Its root represents the common ancestor of all life on Earth. From that point, branches spread out like a tree. The tips of the branches represent living, or extant, species. Species that no longer exist, called extinct species, appear closer to the center of the tree. Today, these organisms are grouped into three domains: bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. Scientists still debate these divisions, so the tree of life keeps...

mutations

How Mutations Change DNA

Mutations are changes in DNA. They can alter the genetic code and affect how genes work. In high school biology, students often study mutations to understand how DNA changes can influence traits. The transcript focuses on two common mutation types: point mutations and frameshift mutations. A point mutation changes one nucleotide, which is one DNA building block. A frameshift mutation happens when nucleotides are added or removed and the reading frame shifts. These changes matter because they...

gene evolution - fast or slow?

Why Some Gene Regions Evolve Faster

Gene regions do not all change at the same rate. In eukaryotes, long stretches of DNA do not code for proteins or RNAs. Some of these non-coding regions include important regulatory sequences, but most have no known function. Because little or no selection pressure acts on them, they often change the fastest over evolutionary time. Protein-coding regions usually evolve more slowly. A change in a coding sequence can alter a protein and make it less effective at doing its job. That creates...

genome size and the evolution of new genes

genome-size-and-the-evolution-of-new-genes

How Genome Size Shapes New Genes

Genome size can vary widely, and it also helps show how new genes form. Every living organism has a genome, whether it uses RNA or DNA. Yet the size of that genome can be very different from one organism to another. One major difference is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. Prokaryotic genomes usually have little to no non-coding sequence, which means genes are packed closely together in operons along the chromosome. Eukaryotic genomes contain long stretches of non-coding DNA...

gene families

How Gene Families Evolve and Diversify

Gene families are groups of genes that are thought to come from a shared ancestor. They usually form when a gene is copied by mistake during cell division. The original gene stays under selection pressure to keep its job, while the extra copy can change more quickly over time. Some copied genes gain a new role in the organism. When that happens, they are called paralogs, which are two genes in the same species that evolved from one common ancestral gene. Gene families also include orthologs,...

types of genetic transfer between organisms

types-of-genetic-transfer-between-organisms

How Genes Move Within and Across Generations

Genetic transfer is the movement of genetic information from one organism to another. It happens in two main ways: vertical gene transfer and horizontal gene transfer. Vertical gene transfer moves genes from one generation to the next. It is much more common than horizontal gene transfer. Vertical gene transfer happens during both sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. In both cases, one or more organisms pass some or all of their genome to their offspring. This kind of transfer occurs...

key terms and concepts

Explore the DNA double helix and base pairing in a clear, high school-friendly overview of how DNA stores genetic information.

DNA Structure and Base Pairing | JoVE K12

molecular biology

JoVE Core Molecular Biology showcases the molecular processes of the cell through clear and concise animated video lessons. Additionally, in scientist-in-action videos, these concepts' application is demonstrated through real experiments in modern laboratories.

new-jersey-student-learning-standards-for-science

New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Science

High School

heredity-inheritance-and-variation-of-traits

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

HS-LS3-1

Next Generation Science Standards

from-molecules-to-organisms-structures-and-processes

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

HS-LS1-1

new-york-state-science-learning-standards

New York State Science Learning Standards

Structure and Function

HS-LS1-1.

The Central Dogma

DNA Packaging

DNA as a Genetic Template

Two structural features of the DNA molecule provide a basis for the mechanisms of heredity: the four nucleotide bases and its double-stranded nature. The ...

Organization of Genes

Lampbrush Chromosomes

In 1882, Flemming observed lampbrush chromosomes (LBC) in salamander eggs. Later in 1892, R&#252;ckert observed LBCs in shark egg cells and coined the ...

Polytene Chromosomes

Polytene chromosomes are giant interphase chromosomes with several DNA strands placed side by side. They were discovered in the year 1881 by Balbiani in ...

Euchromatin

The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions ...

Heterochromatin

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits: Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring. (P: 1, CC: 2, CI: LS3)

1 Exploring phenomena or engineering problems
 1.1 Asking questions and defining problems
  1.1.1 Students will be able to ask questions about aspects of the phenomena they observe, the conclusions they draw from their models or scientific investigations, each other’s ideas, and the information they read.

DNA Structure and Base Pairing

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