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109-411: Circular molecules of DNA , such as plasmids and typical mitochondrial genomes , consist of two strands of DNA called the heavy strand (or H-strand ) and the light strand (or L-strand ). The two strands have different masses due to different proportions of heavier nucleotides . While this difference is not known to have any functional significance, it can be used in the laboratory to segregate

218-554: A double helix . The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses . DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA) are nucleic acids . Alongside proteins , lipids and complex carbohydrates ( polysaccharides ), nucleic acids are one of the four major types of macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life . The two DNA strands are known as polynucleotides as they are composed of simpler monomeric units called nucleotides . Each nucleotide

327-445: A buffer to recruit or titrate ions or antibiotics. Extracellular DNA acts as a functional extracellular matrix component in the biofilms of several bacterial species. It may act as a recognition factor to regulate the attachment and dispersal of specific cell types in the biofilm; it may contribute to biofilm formation; and it may contribute to the biofilm's physical strength and resistance to biological stress. Cell-free fetal DNA

436-459: A cell makes up its genome ; the human genome has approximately 3 billion base pairs of DNA arranged into 46 chromosomes. The information carried by DNA is held in the sequence of pieces of DNA called genes . Transmission of genetic information in genes is achieved via complementary base pairing. For example, in transcription, when a cell uses the information in a gene, the DNA sequence is copied into

545-452: A century and it is likely that they are more abundant than coding DNA. Telomeres are regions of repetitive DNA at the end of a chromosome , which provide protection from chromosomal deterioration during DNA replication . Recent studies have shown that telomeres function to aid in its own stability. Telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) are transcripts derived from telomeres. TERRA has been shown to maintain telomerase activity and lengthen

654-445: A complementary RNA sequence through the attraction between the DNA and the correct RNA nucleotides. Usually, this RNA copy is then used to make a matching protein sequence in a process called translation , which depends on the same interaction between RNA nucleotides. In an alternative fashion, a cell may copy its genetic information in a process called DNA replication . The details of these functions are covered in other articles; here

763-492: A double helix can thus be pulled apart like a zipper, either by a mechanical force or high temperature . As a result of this base pair complementarity, all the information in the double-stranded sequence of a DNA helix is duplicated on each strand, which is vital in DNA replication. This reversible and specific interaction between complementary base pairs is critical for all the functions of DNA in organisms. Most DNA molecules are actually two polymer strands, bound together in

872-428: A full set of the mitochondrial genes. Each human mitochondrion contains, on average, approximately 5 such mtDNA molecules. Each human cell contains approximately 100 mitochondria, giving a total number of mtDNA molecules per human cell of approximately 500. However, the amount of mitochondria per cell also varies by cell type, and an egg cell can contain 100,000 mitochondria, corresponding to up to 1,500,000 copies of

981-439: A helical fashion by noncovalent bonds; this double-stranded (dsDNA) structure is maintained largely by the intrastrand base stacking interactions, which are strongest for G,C stacks. The two strands can come apart—a process known as melting—to form two single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecules. Melting occurs at high temperatures, low salt and high pH (low pH also melts DNA, but since DNA is unstable due to acid depurination, low pH

1090-571: A higher number is also possible but this would be against the natural principle of least effort . The phosphate groups of DNA give it similar acidic properties to phosphoric acid and it can be considered as a strong acid . It will be fully ionized at a normal cellular pH, releasing protons which leave behind negative charges on the phosphate groups. These negative charges protect DNA from breakdown by hydrolysis by repelling nucleophiles which could hydrolyze it. Pure DNA extracted from cells forms white, stringy clumps. The expression of genes

1199-403: A large proportion of the genomic sequences in many species. Alu sequences , classified as a short interspersed nuclear element, are the most abundant mobile elements in the human genome. Some examples have been found of SINEs exerting transcriptional control of some protein-encoding genes. Endogenous retrovirus sequences are the product of reverse transcription of retrovirus genomes into

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1308-667: A long-standing puzzle known as the " C-value enigma ". However, some DNA sequences that do not code protein may still encode functional non-coding RNA molecules, which are involved in the regulation of gene expression . Some noncoding DNA sequences play structural roles in chromosomes. Telomeres and centromeres typically contain few genes but are important for the function and stability of chromosomes. An abundant form of noncoding DNA in humans are pseudogenes , which are copies of genes that have been disabled by mutation. These sequences are usually just molecular fossils , although they can occasionally serve as raw genetic material for

1417-409: A narrower, deeper major groove. The A form occurs under non-physiological conditions in partly dehydrated samples of DNA, while in the cell it may be produced in hybrid pairings of DNA and RNA strands, and in enzyme-DNA complexes. Segments of DNA where the bases have been chemically modified by methylation may undergo a larger change in conformation and adopt the Z form . Here, the strands turn about

1526-410: A number of unique RNA genes that produce catalytic RNAs . Noncoding genes account for only a few percent of prokaryotic genomes but they can represent a vastly higher fraction in eukaryotic genomes. In humans, the noncoding genes take up at least 6% of the genome, largely because there are hundreds of copies of ribosomal RNA genes. Protein-coding genes occupy about 38% of the genome; a fraction that

1635-431: A process called translation . Within eukaryotic cells, DNA is organized into long structures called chromosomes . Before typical cell division , these chromosomes are duplicated in the process of DNA replication, providing a complete set of chromosomes for each daughter cell. Eukaryotic organisms ( animals , plants , fungi and protists ) store most of their DNA inside the cell nucleus as nuclear DNA , and some in

1744-442: A radius of 10 Å (1.0 nm). According to another study, when measured in a different solution, the DNA chain measured 22–26 Å (2.2–2.6 nm) wide, and one nucleotide unit measured 3.3 Å (0.33 nm) long. The buoyant density of most DNA is 1.7g/cm . DNA does not usually exist as a single strand, but instead as a pair of strands that are held tightly together. These two long strands coil around each other, in

1853-416: A second protein when read in the opposite direction along the other strand. In bacteria , this overlap may be involved in the regulation of gene transcription, while in viruses, overlapping genes increase the amount of information that can be encoded within the small viral genome. DNA can be twisted like a rope in a process called DNA supercoiling . With DNA in its "relaxed" state, a strand usually circles

1962-445: A simple TTAGGG sequence. These guanine-rich sequences may stabilize chromosome ends by forming structures of stacked sets of four-base units, rather than the usual base pairs found in other DNA molecules. Here, four guanine bases, known as a guanine tetrad , form a flat plate. These flat four-base units then stack on top of each other to form a stable G-quadruplex structure. These structures are stabilized by hydrogen bonding between

2071-414: A simple repeat such as ATC. There are about 350,000 STRs in the human genome and they are scattered throughout the genome with an average length of about 25 repeats. Variations in the number of STR repeats can cause genetic diseases when they lie within a gene but most of these regions appear to be non-functional junk DNA where the number of repeats can vary considerably from individual to individual. This

2180-464: A substantial proportion of the genome. In humans, for example, introns in protein-coding genes cover 37% of the genome. Combining that with about 1% coding sequences means that protein-coding genes occupy about 38% of the human genome. The calculations for noncoding genes are more complicated because there is considerable dispute over the total number of noncoding genes but taking only the well-defined examples means that noncoding genes occupy at least 6% of

2289-447: Is called intercalation . Most intercalators are aromatic and planar molecules; examples include ethidium bromide , acridines , daunomycin , and doxorubicin . For an intercalator to fit between base pairs, the bases must separate, distorting the DNA strands by unwinding of the double helix. This inhibits both transcription and DNA replication, causing toxicity and mutations. As a result, DNA intercalators may be carcinogens , and in

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2398-435: Is called a polynucleotide . The backbone of the DNA strand is made from alternating phosphate and sugar groups. The sugar in DNA is 2-deoxyribose , which is a pentose (five- carbon ) sugar. The sugars are joined by phosphate groups that form phosphodiester bonds between the third and fifth carbon atoms of adjacent sugar rings. These are known as the 3′-end (three prime end), and 5′-end (five prime end) carbons,

2507-445: Is composed of one of four nitrogen-containing nucleobases ( cytosine [C], guanine [G], adenine [A] or thymine [T]), a sugar called deoxyribose , and a phosphate group . The nucleotides are joined to one another in a chain by covalent bonds (known as the phosphodiester linkage ) between the sugar of one nucleotide and the phosphate of the next, resulting in an alternating sugar-phosphate backbone . The nitrogenous bases of

2616-502: Is considerable controversy in the scientific literature. The nonfunctional DNA in bacterial genomes is mostly located in the intergenic fraction of non-coding DNA but in eukaryotic genomes it may also be found within introns . There are many examples of functional DNA elements in non-coding DNA, and it is erroneous to equate non-coding DNA with junk DNA. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identify linkages between alleles and observable traits such as phenotypes and diseases. Most of

2725-432: Is currently without an explained origin is expected to have found its origin in transposable elements that were active so long ago (> 200 million years) that random mutations have rendered them unrecognizable. Genome size variation in at least two kinds of plants is mostly the result of retrotransposon sequences. Highly repetitive DNA consists of short stretches of DNA that are repeated many times in tandem (one after

2834-434: Is dependent on ionic strength and the concentration of DNA. As a result, it is both the percentage of GC base pairs and the overall length of a DNA double helix that determines the strength of the association between the two strands of DNA. Long DNA helices with a high GC -content have more strongly interacting strands, while short helices with high AT content have more weakly interacting strands. In biology, parts of

2943-493: Is found in the blood of the mother, and can be sequenced to determine a great deal of information about the developing fetus. Non-coding DNA In bacteria , the coding regions typically take up 88% of the genome. The remaining 12% does not encode proteins, but much of it still has biological function through genes where the RNA transcript is functional (non-coding genes) and regulatory sequences, which means that almost all of

3052-411: Is influenced by how the DNA is packaged in chromosomes, in a structure called chromatin . Base modifications can be involved in packaging, with regions that have low or no gene expression usually containing high levels of methylation of cytosine bases. DNA packaging and its influence on gene expression can also occur by covalent modifications of the histone protein core around which DNA is wrapped in

3161-432: Is introduced by enzymes called topoisomerases . These enzymes are also needed to relieve the twisting stresses introduced into DNA strands during processes such as transcription and DNA replication . DNA exists in many possible conformations that include A-DNA , B-DNA , and Z-DNA forms, although only B-DNA and Z-DNA have been directly observed in functional organisms. The conformation that DNA adopts depends on

3270-425: Is much higher than the coding region because genes contain large introns. The total number of noncoding genes in the human genome is controversial. Some scientists think that there are only about 5,000 noncoding genes while others believe that there may be more than 100,000 (see the article on Non-coding RNA ). The difference is largely due to debate over the number of lncRNA genes. Promoters are DNA segments near

3379-404: Is not powerful enough to eliminate them (see Nearly neutral theory of molecular evolution ). The human genome contains about 15,000 pseudogenes derived from protein-coding genes and an unknown number derived from noncoding genes. They may cover a substantial fraction of the genome (~5%) since many of them contain former intron sequences. Pseudogenes are junk DNA by definition and they evolve at

Heavy strand - Misplaced Pages Continue

3488-422: Is nothing special about the four natural nucleobases that evolved on Earth. On the other hand, DNA is tightly related to RNA which does not only act as a transcript of DNA but also performs as molecular machines many tasks in cells. For this purpose it has to fold into a structure. It has been shown that to allow to create all possible structures at least four bases are required for the corresponding RNA , while

3597-492: Is only about one eighth the size of the human genome, yet seems to have a comparable number of genes. Genes take up about 30% of the pufferfish genome and the coding DNA is about 10%. (Non-coding DNA = 90%.) The reduced size of the pufferfish genome is due to a reduction in the length of introns and less repetitive DNA. Utricularia gibba , a bladderwort plant, has a very small nuclear genome (100.7 Mb) compared to most plants. It likely evolved from an ancestral genome that

3706-514: Is rarely used). The stability of the dsDNA form depends not only on the GC -content (% G,C basepairs) but also on sequence (since stacking is sequence specific) and also length (longer molecules are more stable). The stability can be measured in various ways; a common way is the melting temperature (also called T m value), which is the temperature at which 50% of the double-strand molecules are converted to single-strand molecules; melting temperature

3815-428: Is recreated by an enzyme called DNA polymerase . This enzyme makes the complementary strand by finding the correct base through complementary base pairing and bonding it onto the original strand. As DNA polymerases can only extend a DNA strand in a 5′ to 3′ direction, different mechanisms are used to copy the antiparallel strands of the double helix. In this way, the base on the old strand dictates which base appears on

3924-428: Is the sequence of these four nucleobases along the backbone that encodes genetic information. RNA strands are created using DNA strands as a template in a process called transcription , where DNA bases are exchanged for their corresponding bases except in the case of thymine (T), for which RNA substitutes uracil (U). Under the genetic code , these RNA strands specify the sequence of amino acids within proteins in

4033-516: Is the largest human chromosome with approximately 220 million base pairs , and would be 85 mm long if straightened. In eukaryotes , in addition to nuclear DNA , there is also mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) which encodes certain proteins used by the mitochondria. The mtDNA is usually relatively small in comparison to the nuclear DNA. For example, the human mitochondrial DNA forms closed circular molecules, each of which contains 16,569 DNA base pairs, with each such molecule normally containing

4142-486: Is to allow the cell to replicate chromosome ends using the enzyme telomerase , as the enzymes that normally replicate DNA cannot copy the extreme 3′ ends of chromosomes. These specialized chromosome caps also help protect the DNA ends, and stop the DNA repair systems in the cell from treating them as damage to be corrected. In human cells , telomeres are usually lengths of single-stranded DNA containing several thousand repeats of

4251-462: Is unclear because it is difficult to distinguish between spurious transcription factor binding sites and those that are functional. The binding characteristics of typical DNA-binding proteins were characterized in the 1970s and the biochemical properties of transcription factors predict that in cells with large genomes, the majority of binding sites will not be biologically functional. Many regulatory sequences occur near promoters, usually upstream of

4360-446: Is why these length differences are used extensively in DNA fingerprinting . Junk DNA is DNA that has no biologically relevant function such as pseudogenes and fragments of once active transposons. Bacteria and viral genomes have very little junk DNA but some eukaryotic genomes may have a substantial amount of junk DNA. The exact amount of nonfunctional DNA in humans and other species with large genomes has not been determined and there

4469-657: The DNA sequence . Mutagens include oxidizing agents , alkylating agents and also high-energy electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light and X-rays . The type of DNA damage produced depends on the type of mutagen. For example, UV light can damage DNA by producing thymine dimers , which are cross-links between pyrimidine bases. On the other hand, oxidants such as free radicals or hydrogen peroxide produce multiple forms of damage, including base modifications, particularly of guanosine, and double-strand breaks. A typical human cell contains about 150,000 bases that have suffered oxidative damage. Of these oxidative lesions,

Heavy strand - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-406: The amino-acid sequences of proteins is determined by the rules of translation , known collectively as the genetic code . The genetic code consists of three-letter 'words' called codons formed from a sequence of three nucleotides (e.g. ACT, CAG, TTT). In transcription, the codons of a gene are copied into messenger RNA by RNA polymerase . This RNA copy is then decoded by a ribosome that reads

4687-420: The mitochondria as mitochondrial DNA or in chloroplasts as chloroplast DNA . In contrast, prokaryotes ( bacteria and archaea ) store their DNA only in the cytoplasm , in circular chromosomes . Within eukaryotic chromosomes, chromatin proteins, such as histones , compact and organize DNA. These compacting structures guide the interactions between DNA and other proteins, helping control which parts of

4796-416: The 1960s and their general characteristics were worked out in the 1970s by studying specific transcription factors in bacteria and bacteriophage . Promoters and regulatory sequences represent an abundant class of noncoding DNA but they mostly consist of a collection of relatively short sequences so they do not take up a very large fraction of the genome. The exact amount of regulatory DNA in mammalian genome

4905-429: The 1960s. Prokaryotic genomes contain genes for a number of other noncoding RNAs but noncoding RNA genes are much more common in eukaryotes. Typical classes of noncoding genes in eukaryotes include genes for small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs), small nucleolar RNAs (sno RNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). In addition, there are

5014-419: The 3′ and 5′ carbons along the sugar-phosphate backbone confers directionality (sometimes called polarity) to each DNA strand. In a nucleic acid double helix , the direction of the nucleotides in one strand is opposite to their direction in the other strand: the strands are antiparallel . The asymmetric ends of DNA strands are said to have a directionality of five prime end (5′ ), and three prime end (3′), with

5123-479: The 5' end of the gene where transcription begins. They are the sites where RNA polymerase binds to initiate RNA synthesis. Every gene has a noncoding promoter. Regulatory elements are sites that control the transcription of a nearby gene. They are almost always sequences where transcription factors bind to DNA and these transcription factors can either activate transcription (activators) or repress transcription (repressors). Regulatory elements were discovered in

5232-542: The 5′ end having a terminal phosphate group and the 3′ end a terminal hydroxyl group. One major difference between DNA and RNA is the sugar, with the 2-deoxyribose in DNA being replaced by the related pentose sugar ribose in RNA. The DNA double helix is stabilized primarily by two forces: hydrogen bonds between nucleotides and base-stacking interactions among aromatic nucleobases. The four bases found in DNA are adenine ( A ), cytosine ( C ), guanine ( G ) and thymine ( T ). These four bases are attached to

5341-435: The DNA are transcribed. DNA is a long polymer made from repeating units called nucleotides . The structure of DNA is dynamic along its length, being capable of coiling into tight loops and other shapes. In all species it is composed of two helical chains, bound to each other by hydrogen bonds . Both chains are coiled around the same axis, and have the same pitch of 34 ångströms (3.4  nm ). The pair of chains have

5450-453: The DNA double helix that need to separate easily, such as the TATAAT Pribnow box in some promoters , tend to have a high AT content, making the strands easier to pull apart. In the laboratory, the strength of this interaction can be measured by finding the melting temperature T m necessary to break half of the hydrogen bonds. When all the base pairs in a DNA double helix melt,

5559-401: The RNA sequence by base-pairing the messenger RNA to transfer RNA , which carries amino acids. Since there are 4 bases in 3-letter combinations, there are 64 possible codons (4  combinations). These encode the twenty standard amino acids , giving most amino acids more than one possible codon. There are also three 'stop' or 'nonsense' codons signifying the end of the coding region; these are

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5668-488: The TAG, TAA, and TGA codons, (UAG, UAA, and UGA on the mRNA). Cell division is essential for an organism to grow, but, when a cell divides, it must replicate the DNA in its genome so that the two daughter cells have the same genetic information as their parent. The double-stranded structure of DNA provides a simple mechanism for DNA replication . Here, the two strands are separated and then each strand's complementary DNA sequence

5777-450: The amount of protein-coding sequence on each strand, as codons do not all occur with equal frequency. This molecular biology article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid ( / d iː ˈ ɒ k s ɪ ˌ r aɪ b oʊ nj uː ˌ k l iː ɪ k , - ˌ k l eɪ -/ ; DNA ) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form

5886-430: The associations are between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the trait being examined and most of these SNPs are located in non-functional DNA. The association establishes a linkage that helps map the DNA region responsible for the trait but it does not necessarily identify the mutations causing the disease or phenotypic difference. SNPs that are tightly linked to traits are the ones most likely to identify

5995-442: The axis of the double helix once every 10.4 base pairs, but if the DNA is twisted the strands become more tightly or more loosely wound. If the DNA is twisted in the direction of the helix, this is positive supercoiling, and the bases are held more tightly together. If they are twisted in the opposite direction, this is negative supercoiling, and the bases come apart more easily. In nature, most DNA has slight negative supercoiling that

6104-414: The bacterial genome has a function. The amount of coding DNA in eukaryotes is usually a much smaller fraction of the genome because eukaryotic genomes contain large amounts of repetitive DNA not found in prokaryotes. The human genome contains somewhere between 1–2% coding DNA. The exact number is not known because there are disputes over the number of functional coding exons and over the total size of

6213-407: The canonical bases plus uracil. Twin helical strands form the DNA backbone. Another double helix may be found tracing the spaces, or grooves, between the strands. These voids are adjacent to the base pairs and may provide a binding site . As the strands are not symmetrically located with respect to each other, the grooves are unequally sized. The major groove is 22 ångströms (2.2 nm) wide, while

6322-467: The case of thalidomide, a teratogen . Others such as benzo[ a ]pyrene diol epoxide and aflatoxin form DNA adducts that induce errors in replication. Nevertheless, due to their ability to inhibit DNA transcription and replication, other similar toxins are also used in chemotherapy to inhibit rapidly growing cancer cells. DNA usually occurs as linear chromosomes in eukaryotes , and circular chromosomes in prokaryotes . The set of chromosomes in

6431-581: The cell (see below) , but the major and minor grooves are always named to reflect the differences in width that would be seen if the DNA was twisted back into the ordinary B form . In a DNA double helix, each type of nucleobase on one strand bonds with just one type of nucleobase on the other strand. This is called complementary base pairing . Purines form hydrogen bonds to pyrimidines, with adenine bonding only to thymine in two hydrogen bonds, and cytosine bonding only to guanine in three hydrogen bonds. This arrangement of two nucleotides binding together across

6540-619: The chromatin structure or else by remodeling carried out by chromatin remodeling complexes (see Chromatin remodeling ). There is, further, crosstalk between DNA methylation and histone modification, so they can coordinately affect chromatin and gene expression. For one example, cytosine methylation produces 5-methylcytosine , which is important for X-inactivation of chromosomes. The average level of methylation varies between organisms—the worm Caenorhabditis elegans lacks cytosine methylation, while vertebrates have higher levels, with up to 1% of their DNA containing 5-methylcytosine. Despite

6649-476: The conditions found in cells, it is not a well-defined conformation but a family of related DNA conformations that occur at the high hydration levels present in cells. Their corresponding X-ray diffraction and scattering patterns are characteristic of molecular paracrystals with a significant degree of disorder. Compared to B-DNA, the A-DNA form is a wider right-handed spiral, with a shallow, wide minor groove and

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6758-405: The creation of new genes through the process of gene duplication and divergence . A gene is a sequence of DNA that contains genetic information and can influence the phenotype of an organism. Within a gene, the sequence of bases along a DNA strand defines a messenger RNA sequence, which then defines one or more protein sequences. The relationship between the nucleotide sequences of genes and

6867-449: The cytoplasm called the nucleoid . The genetic information in a genome is held within genes, and the complete set of this information in an organism is called its genotype . A gene is a unit of heredity and is a region of DNA that influences a particular characteristic in an organism. Genes contain an open reading frame that can be transcribed, and regulatory sequences such as promoters and enhancers , which control transcription of

6976-405: The double helix (from six-carbon ring to six-carbon ring) is called a Watson-Crick base pair. DNA with high GC-content is more stable than DNA with low GC -content. A Hoogsteen base pair (hydrogen bonding the 6-carbon ring to the 5-carbon ring) is a rare variation of base-pairing. As hydrogen bonds are not covalent , they can be broken and rejoined relatively easily. The two strands of DNA in

7085-442: The edges of the bases and chelation of a metal ion in the centre of each four-base unit. Other structures can also be formed, with the central set of four bases coming from either a single strand folded around the bases, or several different parallel strands, each contributing one base to the central structure. In addition to these stacked structures, telomeres also form large loop structures called telomere loops, or T-loops. Here,

7194-481: The end of an otherwise complementary double-strand of DNA. However, branched DNA can occur if a third strand of DNA is introduced and contains adjoining regions able to hybridize with the frayed regions of the pre-existing double-strand. Although the simplest example of branched DNA involves only three strands of DNA, complexes involving additional strands and multiple branches are also possible. Branched DNA can be used in nanotechnology to construct geometric shapes, see

7303-464: The ends of chromosomes. Both prokaryotic and eukarotic genomes are organized into large loops of protein-bound DNA. In eukaryotes, the bases of the loops are called scaffold attachment regions (SARs) and they consist of stretches of DNA that bind an RNA/protein complex to stabilize the loop. There are about 100,000 loops in the human genome and each SAR consists of about 100 bp of DNA, so the total amount of DNA devoted to SARs accounts for about 0.3% of

7412-418: The focus is on the interactions between DNA and other molecules that mediate the function of the genome. Genomic DNA is tightly and orderly packed in the process called DNA condensation , to fit the small available volumes of the cell. In eukaryotes, DNA is located in the cell nucleus , with small amounts in mitochondria and chloroplasts . In prokaryotes, the DNA is held within an irregularly shaped body in

7521-448: The functions of these RNAs are not entirely clear. One proposal is that antisense RNAs are involved in regulating gene expression through RNA-RNA base pairing. A few DNA sequences in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and more in plasmids and viruses , blur the distinction between sense and antisense strands by having overlapping genes . In these cases, some DNA sequences do double duty, encoding one protein when read along one strand, and

7630-481: The genome because each centromere can be millions of base pairs in length. In humans, for example, the sequences of all 24 centromeres have been determined and they account for about 6% of the genome. However, it is unlikely that all of this noncoding DNA is essential since there is considerable variation in the total amount of centromeric DNA in different individuals. Centromeres are another example of functional noncoding DNA sequences that have been known for almost half

7739-408: The genome is so much smaller than other genomes, this represents a considerable reduction in the amount of this DNA. The authors of the original 2013 article note that claims of additional functional elements in the non-coding DNA of animals do not seem to apply to plant genomes. According to a New York Times article, during the evolution of this species, "... genetic junk that didn't serve a purpose

7848-418: The genome. Centromeres are the sites where spindle fibers attach to newly replicated chromosomes in order to segregate them into daughter cells when the cell divides. Each eukaryotic chromosome has a single functional centromere that is seen as a constricted region in a condensed metaphase chromosome. Centromeric DNA consists of a number of repetitive DNA sequences that often take up a significant fraction of

7957-504: The genome. The standard biochemistry and molecular biology textbooks describe non-coding nucleotides in mRNA located between the 5' end of the gene and the translation initiation codon. These regions are called 5'-untranslated regions or 5'-UTRs. Similar regions called 3'-untranslated regions (3'-UTRs) are found at the end of the gene. The 5'-UTRs and 3'UTRs are very short in bacteria but they can be several hundred nucleotides in length in eukaryotes. They contain short elements that control

8066-410: The genomes of germ cells . Mutation within these retro-transcribed sequences can inactivate the viral genome. Over 8% of the human genome is made up of (mostly decayed) endogenous retrovirus sequences, as part of the over 42% fraction that is recognizably derived of retrotransposons, while another 3% can be identified to be the remains of DNA transposons . Much of the remaining half of the genome that

8175-448: The helical axis in a left-handed spiral, the opposite of the more common B form. These unusual structures can be recognized by specific Z-DNA binding proteins and may be involved in the regulation of transcription. For many years, exobiologists have proposed the existence of a shadow biosphere , a postulated microbial biosphere of Earth that uses radically different biochemical and molecular processes than currently known life. One of

8284-442: The human genome. Pseudogenes are mostly former genes that have become non-functional due to mutation, but the term also refers to inactive DNA sequences that are derived from RNAs produced by functional genes ( processed pseudogenes ). Pseudogenes are only a small fraction of noncoding DNA in prokaryotic genomes because they are eliminated by negative selection. In some eukaryotes, however, pseudogenes can accumulate because selection

8393-464: The human genome. This means that 98–99% of the human genome consists of non-coding DNA and this includes many functional elements such as non-coding genes and regulatory sequences. Genome size in eukaryotes can vary over a wide range, even between closely related species. This puzzling observation was originally known as the C-value Paradox where "C" refers to the haploid genome size. The paradox

8502-448: The hydration level, DNA sequence, the amount and direction of supercoiling, chemical modifications of the bases, the type and concentration of metal ions , and the presence of polyamines in solution. The first published reports of A-DNA X-ray diffraction patterns —and also B-DNA—used analyses based on Patterson functions that provided only a limited amount of structural information for oriented fibers of DNA. An alternative analysis

8611-427: The hydrolytic activities of cellular water, etc., also occur frequently. Although most of these damages are repaired, in any cell some DNA damage may remain despite the action of repair processes. These remaining DNA damages accumulate with age in mammalian postmitotic tissues. This accumulation appears to be an important underlying cause of aging. Many mutagens fit into the space between two adjacent base pairs, this

8720-412: The importance of 5-methylcytosine, it can deaminate to leave a thymine base, so methylated cytosines are particularly prone to mutations . Other base modifications include adenine methylation in bacteria, the presence of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in the brain , and the glycosylation of uracil to produce the "J-base" in kinetoplastids . DNA can be damaged by many sorts of mutagens , which change

8829-468: The initiation of translation (5'-UTRs) and transcription termination (3'-UTRs) as well as regulatory elements that may control mRNA stability, processing, and targeting to different regions of the cell. DNA synthesis begins at specific sites called origins of replication . These are regions of the genome where the DNA replication machinery is assembled and the DNA is unwound to begin DNA synthesis. In most cases, replication proceeds in both directions from

8938-421: The introns in other plant genomes. There are noncoding genes, including many copies of ribosomal RNA genes. The genome also contains telomere sequences and centromeres as expected. Much of the repetitive DNA seen in other eukaryotes has been deleted from the bladderwort genome since that lineage split from those of other plants. About 59% of the bladderwort genome consists of transposon-related sequences but since

9047-441: The minor groove is 12 Å (1.2 nm) in width. Due to the larger width of the major groove, the edges of the bases are more accessible in the major groove than in the minor groove. As a result, proteins such as transcription factors that can bind to specific sequences in double-stranded DNA usually make contact with the sides of the bases exposed in the major groove. This situation varies in unusual conformations of DNA within

9156-516: The mitochondrial genome (constituting up to 90% of the DNA of the cell). A DNA sequence is called a "sense" sequence if it is the same as that of a messenger RNA copy that is translated into protein. The sequence on the opposite strand is called the "antisense" sequence. Both sense and antisense sequences can exist on different parts of the same strand of DNA (i.e. both strands can contain both sense and antisense sequences). In both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, antisense RNA sequences are produced, but

9265-477: The most dangerous are double-strand breaks, as these are difficult to repair and can produce point mutations , insertions , deletions from the DNA sequence, and chromosomal translocations . These mutations can cause cancer . Because of inherent limits in the DNA repair mechanisms, if humans lived long enough, they would all eventually develop cancer. DNA damages that are naturally occurring , due to normal cellular processes that produce reactive oxygen species,

9374-465: The neutral rate as expected for junk DNA. Some former pseudogenes have secondarily acquired a function and this leads some scientists to speculate that most pseudogenes are not junk because they have a yet-to-be-discovered function. Transposons and retrotransposons are mobile genetic elements . Retrotransposon repeated sequences , which include long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) and short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs), account for

9483-464: The new strand, and the cell ends up with a perfect copy of its DNA. Naked extracellular DNA (eDNA), most of it released by cell death, is nearly ubiquitous in the environment. Its concentration in soil may be as high as 2 μg/L, and its concentration in natural aquatic environments may be as high at 88 μg/L. Various possible functions have been proposed for eDNA: it may be involved in horizontal gene transfer ; it may provide nutrients; and it may act as

9592-458: The number of genes seems to be relatively constant, an issue termed the G-value Paradox . For example, the genome of the unicellular Polychaos dubium (formerly known as Amoeba dubia ) has been reported to contain more than 200 times the amount of DNA in humans (i.e. more than 600 billion pairs of bases vs a bit more than 3 billion in humans). The pufferfish Takifugu rubripes genome

9701-454: The open reading frame. In many species , only a small fraction of the total sequence of the genome encodes protein. For example, only about 1.5% of the human genome consists of protein-coding exons , with over 50% of human DNA consisting of non-coding repetitive sequences . The reasons for the presence of so much noncoding DNA in eukaryotic genomes and the extraordinary differences in genome size , or C-value , among species, represent

9810-525: The other). The repeat segments are usually between 2 bp and 10 bp but longer ones are known. Highly repetitive DNA is rare in prokaryotes but common in eukaryotes, especially those with large genomes. It is sometimes called satellite DNA . Most of the highly repetitive DNA is found in centromeres and telomeres (see above) and most of it is functional although some might be redundant. The other significant fraction resides in short tandem repeats (STRs; also called microsatellites ) consisting of short stretches of

9919-509: The parts of a gene that are transcribed into the precursor RNA sequence, but ultimately removed by RNA splicing during the processing to mature RNA. Introns are found in both types of genes: protein-coding genes and noncoding genes. They are present in prokaryotes but they are much more common in eukaryotic genomes. Group I and group II introns take up only a small percentage of the genome when they are present. Spliceosomal introns (see Figure) are only found in eukaryotes and they can represent

10028-428: The place of thymine in RNA and differs from thymine by lacking a methyl group on its ring. In addition to RNA and DNA, many artificial nucleic acid analogues have been created to study the properties of nucleic acids, or for use in biotechnology. Modified bases occur in DNA. The first of these recognized was 5-methylcytosine , which was found in the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 1925. The reason for

10137-530: The presence of these noncanonical bases in bacterial viruses ( bacteriophages ) is to avoid the restriction enzymes present in bacteria. This enzyme system acts at least in part as a molecular immune system protecting bacteria from infection by viruses. Modifications of the bases cytosine and adenine, the more common and modified DNA bases, play vital roles in the epigenetic control of gene expression in plants and animals. A number of noncanonical bases are known to occur in DNA. Most of these are modifications of

10246-412: The prime symbol being used to distinguish these carbon atoms from those of the base to which the deoxyribose forms a glycosidic bond . Therefore, any DNA strand normally has one end at which there is a phosphate group attached to the 5′ carbon of a ribose (the 5′ phosphoryl) and another end at which there is a free hydroxyl group attached to the 3′ carbon of a ribose (the 3′ hydroxyl). The orientation of

10355-466: The proposals was the existence of lifeforms that use arsenic instead of phosphorus in DNA . A report in 2010 of the possibility in the bacterium GFAJ-1 was announced, though the research was disputed, and evidence suggests the bacterium actively prevents the incorporation of arsenic into the DNA backbone and other biomolecules. At the ends of the linear chromosomes are specialized regions of DNA called telomeres . The main function of these regions

10464-420: The replication origin. The main features of replication origins are sequences where specific initiation proteins are bound. A typical replication origin covers about 100-200 base pairs of DNA. Prokaryotes have one origin of replication per chromosome or plasmid but there are usually multiple origins in eukaryotic chromosomes. The human genome contains about 100,000 origins of replication representing about 0.3% of

10573-409: The same biological information . This information is replicated when the two strands separate. A large part of DNA (more than 98% for humans) is non-coding , meaning that these sections do not serve as patterns for protein sequences . The two strands of DNA run in opposite directions to each other and are thus antiparallel . Attached to each sugar is one of four types of nucleobases (or bases ). It

10682-432: The section on uses in technology below. Several artificial nucleobases have been synthesized, and successfully incorporated in the eight-base DNA analogue named Hachimoji DNA . Dubbed S, B, P, and Z, these artificial bases are capable of bonding with each other in a predictable way (S–B and P–Z), maintain the double helix structure of DNA, and be transcribed to RNA. Their existence could be seen as an indication that there

10791-473: The shape of a double helix . The nucleotide contains both a segment of the backbone of the molecule (which holds the chain together) and a nucleobase (which interacts with the other DNA strand in the helix). A nucleobase linked to a sugar is called a nucleoside , and a base linked to a sugar and to one or more phosphate groups is called a nucleotide . A biopolymer comprising multiple linked nucleotides (as in DNA)

10900-498: The single-stranded DNA curls around in a long circle stabilized by telomere-binding proteins. At the very end of the T-loop, the single-stranded telomere DNA is held onto a region of double-stranded DNA by the telomere strand disrupting the double-helical DNA and base pairing to one of the two strands. This triple-stranded structure is called a displacement loop or D-loop . In DNA, fraying occurs when non-complementary regions exist at

11009-513: The strands of denatured DNA, and hence to analyze the strands separately. Adenine and guanine ( purines ) are heavier than cytosine and thymine ( pyrimidines ) due to their extra ring. Because a purine always pairs with a pyrimidine, any excess of purines in one strand will occur with a corresponding excess of pyrimidines in the other strand and vice versa. Statistically, there is more likely to be such an imbalance than an exact 50/50 ratio. In addition, bias may arise due to differentials in

11118-518: The strands separate and exist in solution as two entirely independent molecules. These single-stranded DNA molecules have no single common shape, but some conformations are more stable than others. In humans, the total female diploid nuclear genome per cell extends for 6.37 Gigabase pairs (Gbp), is 208.23 cm long and weighs 6.51 picograms (pg). Male values are 6.27 Gbp, 205.00 cm, 6.41 pg. Each DNA polymer can contain hundreds of millions of nucleotides, such as in chromosome 1 . Chromosome 1

11227-469: The sugar-phosphate to form the complete nucleotide, as shown for adenosine monophosphate . Adenine pairs with thymine and guanine pairs with cytosine, forming A-T and G-C base pairs . The nucleobases are classified into two types: the purines , A and G , which are fused five- and six-membered heterocyclic compounds , and the pyrimidines , the six-membered rings C and T . A fifth pyrimidine nucleobase, uracil ( U ), usually takes

11336-456: The transcription start site of the gene. Some occur within a gene and a few are located downstream of the transcription termination site. In eukaryotes, there are some regulatory sequences that are located at a considerable distance from the promoter region. These distant regulatory sequences are often called enhancers but there is no rigorous definition of enhancer that distinguishes it from other transcription factor binding sites. Introns are

11445-430: The two separate polynucleotide strands are bound together, according to base pairing rules (A with T and C with G), with hydrogen bonds to make double-stranded DNA. The complementary nitrogenous bases are divided into two groups, the single-ringed pyrimidines and the double-ringed purines . In DNA, the pyrimidines are thymine and cytosine; the purines are adenine and guanine. Both strands of double-stranded DNA store

11554-403: Was 1,500 Mb in size. The bladderwort genome has roughly the same number of genes as other plants but the total amount of coding DNA comes to about 30% of the genome. The remainder of the genome (70% non-coding DNA) consists of promoters and regulatory sequences that are shorter than those in other plant species. The genes contain introns but there are fewer of them and they are smaller than

11663-610: Was expunged, and the necessary stuff was kept." According to Victor Albert of the University of Buffalo, the plant is able to expunge its so-called junk DNA and "have a perfectly good multicellular plant with lots of different cells, organs, tissue types and flowers, and you can do it without the junk. Junk is not needed." There are two types of genes : protein coding genes and noncoding genes . Noncoding genes are an important part of non-coding DNA and they include genes for transfer RNA and ribosomal RNA . These genes were discovered in

11772-517: Was proposed by Wilkins et al. in 1953 for the in vivo B-DNA X-ray diffraction-scattering patterns of highly hydrated DNA fibers in terms of squares of Bessel functions . In the same journal, James Watson and Francis Crick presented their molecular modeling analysis of the DNA X-ray diffraction patterns to suggest that the structure was a double helix. Although the B-DNA form is most common under

11881-528: Was resolved with the discovery that most of the differences were due to the expansion and contraction of repetitive DNA and not the number of genes. Some researchers speculated that this repetitive DNA was mostly junk DNA . The reasons for the changes in genome size are still being worked out and this problem is called the C-value Enigma. This led to the observation that the number of genes does not seem to correlate with perceived notions of complexity because

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