LESSON 5: DNA, RNA, and Photosynthesis SCIENCE 10

THIRD QUARTER | S.Y. 2022 | MR. MARTIN

THE NUCLEIC ACIDS DNA RNA

Nucleic Acids Sugar Deoxyribose C5H10O4 Ribose C5H10O5

- Are organic compounds that function as storage of genetic
information, which is transmitted from one generation to Strand Double-stranded Single-stranded
the next in all living organisms.
Nitrogenous Adenine Adenine
- It is the physical carrier of inheritance that is passed from Thymine Uracil
bases
parents to offspring Cytosine Cytosine
- Functions in protein synthesis as they carry the code Guanine Guanine
needed in the formation of specific proteins.
- There are TWO TYPES OF NUCLEIC ACIDS: Location Mostly in the Mostly in the cytoplasm
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) nucleus but may but may also be found in
also be found in the the nucleus
cytoplasm and
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) mitochondria
‐ Consists of a ribose sugar with a “missing oxygen” (that’s
the de-oxy part) Function Blueprint of Assists in carrying out
‐ found in the nucleus of eukaryotic organisms biological guidelines DNA’s blueprint
‐ a double-stranded molecule that carries genetic that living organism guidelines
must follow to exit
instructions necessary for the growth, development,
and function
functioning, and reproduction of all living things. properly
‐ DNA is made up of four nitrogenous bases: Adenine (A),
Thymine (T), Guanine (G), and Cytosine (C).
‐ FUNCTIONS: THE CENTRAL DOGMA OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
a. Storing Information
b. Copying Information The following are the specific events that we can get from
c. Transmitting Information the central dogma:
a. Existing DNA replicates itself in the nucleus to make
→ The structure of DNA is a new DNA (DNA replication)
double helix, resembling a b. A DNA portion, known as a gene is transcribed to
twisted ladder. produce new RNA (Transcription)
→ The sides of the ladder are c. RNA is translated to produce new amino acid
made up of sugar and sequences and ultimately, proteins. (Translation)
phosphate molecules, while
the rungs of the ladder are PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
made up of nitrogenous
bases.
Protein synthesis is the process through which cells make
proteins. Proteins are essential for the structure, function,
Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)
and regulation of the body's tissues and organs.
‐ a single-stranded molecule that plays a crucial role in
- What we see is mostly made up of PROTEIN.
protein synthesis.
- An organism produces its particular protein.
‐ RNA is made up of four nitrogenous bases: Adenine (A),
Uracil (U), Guanine (G), and Cytosine (C). - The species-particular DNA sequences produce the
‐ There are THREE TYPES OF RNA: species-particular proteins.
○ messenger RNA (mRNA): carries genetic
information from DNA to the ribosome, where it REPLICATION: How DNA Copies Itself
is used to make proteins. → DNA replication is the process by which cells create an identical
○ transfer RNA (tRNA): brings amino acids to the copy of their DNA.
ribosome, where they are assembled into → Cells need to make identical copies of their genetic material for
proteins. growth and repair.
○ ribosomal RNA (rRNA): makes up the ribosome, → Replication happens before cell division
which is the site of protein synthesis.
 ○ STEP 1: An enzyme called helicase breaks the bond TRANSLATION: Making the Protein
between nitrogenous bases. This divides the DNA into two → Translation now happens in the ribosome. During translation,
single strands. mRNA is a code for a specific protein. This mRNA contains sets of
○ STEP 2: The bases attached to each strand then pair up three bases which are called codons. These codons, carried by
such that (A to T, and C to G ) with the free nucleotides mRNA will now code for a specific anticodon which is carried by
found in the cytoplasm. specific tRNA or transfer RNA
○ STEP 3: The complementary nucleotides are added to each → Each tRNA now represents a specific amino acid, which is the
strand by DNA polymerase to form new strands. Two new building block for proteins. The arrangement of these codons is
DNA molecules, each with a parent strand and each with called the reading frame. Since there are four bases, and there are
a new strand are formed. DNA replication is known as three letters per codon, there are 64 (43) possible codons that
semi-conservative replication because one of the old represent amino acids and are reflected using a codon table. Each
strands is the conservative replication of DNA. codon represents a specific amino acid. Some of the codons are
special.
TRANSCRIPTION: Making Working Copies of the Genes → For instance, the codon AUG or Methionine is the start codon
→ Transcription happens in the nucleus of the cell. that initiates the translation process. The codons UAA, UAG, and
→ the DNA sequence of a gene is used as a template to make a UGA are known as the stop codons which terminate the translation
molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA). process
→ This mRNA strand is complementary to the DNA to which it is
copied. It has three stages: initiation, elongation, and termination.

○ Initiation:
- Transcription requires the DNA double helix to partially unwind in
the region of mRNA synthesis.
- The region of unwinding is called a transcription bubble.
- The DNA sequence on which the proteins and enzymes involved in
transcription bind to initiate the process is called a promoter.
- In most cases, promoters exist upstream of the genes they
regulate.
- The specific sequence of a promoter is very important because it
determines whether the corresponding gene is transcribed all of the
time, some of the time, or hardly at all.

○ Elongation:
- An enzyme called RNA polymerase proceeds along the DNA
template adding nucleotides by base pairing with the DNA template
in a manner similar to DNA replication.
- The mRNA product is complementary to the template strand and is
almost identical to the other DNA strand, called the non-template
strand, with the exception that RNA contains a uracil (U) in place of
the thymine (T) found in DNA.
- During elongation, the DNA is continuously unwound ahead of the
core enzyme and rewound behind it.

○ Termination:
- Depending on the gene being transcribed, there are two kinds of
termination signals.
- Both involve repeated nucleotide sequences in the DNA template
that result in RNA polymerase stalling, leaving the DNA template,
and freeing the mRNA transcript.
- On termination, the process of transcription is complete.
- In a prokaryotic cell, by the time termination occurs, the transcript
would already have been used to partially synthesize numerous
copies of the encoded protein because these processes can occur
concurrently using multiple ribosomes (polyribosomes).
- In contrast, the presence of a nucleus in eukaryotic cells precludes
simultaneous transcription and translation.