The Concept of Gene Replication - Assignment Example

This alteration can be in the form of adding new pairs, deletion or inversion of a section of the strand. Mutation results in the alteration of the stored information in a gene.

Describe the double helix structure of DNA molecule, and explain how such structure and its functions make it possible for DNA to act as a genetic material. (3 points)
DNA is a polymer made up of nucleotides. Each monomer nucleotide consists of 5-carbon deoxyribose, a nitrogen base and a phosphate group. The nucleotides are two purines (adenine and guanine) and two pyrimidines (cytosine and thymine). They differ in their nitrogen base. The DNA molecule is a pair of polynucleotide strands held together by weak thermodynamic forces that connect the nucleotides from each strand making up a pair. The details relating the strand between alternating pairs vary, making the pair coil around each other, forming a helical structure. This structure helps the DNA to be tightly packed with genetic information and occupy a small space in the cell. The negatively charged phosphate groups face the outside making the structure stable.

Define the concept of “Central Dogma” in biology, and the concepts of transcription, translation, codon, and the redundancy nature of codons in gene expression. Draw a diagram showing how the gene works. (4 points)The central dogma in genetics states that the coded information in the DNA is transcripted into transportable units in messenger RNA (mRNA), which then programs them to synthesise specific proteins.

The messenger RNA carries the coded information to the ribosomes, where the data is downloaded (transcription), translated and divided into codons, each having three of the four base pairs. Transfer RNA then obtains a reflection of this information in a new strand in which the base pairs arrange themselves to become a reflection of the messenger RNA strand. Guanine on the m RNA translates to cytosine on the transfer RNA, and vice versa; thiamine and adenine translate similarly. The working of a gene.