Download Fishy Genetics: From DNA to Protein: The Central Dogma of Biology

Fishy Genetics: From DNA to Protein: The Central Dogma of Biology You are going to use a DNA code to make a fish. The directions for building the fish are locked in a DNA molecule. Figure out how to read the code to see what your fish looks like. Remember this:
DNA​ is a very complex molecule. It stores the information for making proteins in the codes of its bases: A,T,C, & G. ​Proteins​ are long chain molecules (polymers) that are made of ​amino acids​ (monomers). There are 20 different amino acids. Protein synthesis is the process of reading the DNA code and building the protein called for by the code. The molecule ​RNA​ is a key player in the process. RNA is a nucleic acid just like DNA but there are several differences. RNA has one strand, not two. Thymine (T) is replaced with Uracil (U) The DNA is in the ​nucleus​ of the cell. RNA makes a one-­strand copy of the DNA code. It takes that code to a ribosome ​of the cell. There, another type of RNA will “read” ​3​ bases of the code, called a ​codon​. These three bases, or codon, call for a specific amino acid. A chain of amino acids will form as each set of 3 bases is read. This chain will become the protein. Basic Polymer Info: Polymer Monomer Function Shape Cell parts involved DNA Nucleotides (deoxyribose sugar, phosphate, base) Stores information on how to build proteins Double Helix Complementary bases (A-­T and C-­G) Stays in the nucleus RNA Nucleotides (ribose sugar, phosphate, base) Carry DNA message out of the nucleus and translate into amino acid language Single strand Made in nucleus, travels to No T base, has U ribosome instead. 2 types (mRNA and tRNA) Protein Amino Acids Structure of cells, enzymes, hormones, transport in the body Hundreds, to Made in the ribosome thousands of amino acids long. Complex twisted shapes The only real way to understand this is to just do it. Let’s think like a cell and make a protein. All we are doing is changing from DNA language to Protein language. You just have to always think of the opposite base. Now fill in the strand for your group’s fish. Use the Codon Wheel to translate from DNA to amino acid. This version includes both the full name and abbreviations.