Download 13.1 Notes - Trimble County Schools

DNA
DNA fingerprinting, DNA profiling,
DNA typing
All terms applied to the discovery by
Alec Jeffreys and colleagues at
Leicester University, England
The
DNA structure of certain
genes are unique to each
individual
Strands of
genetic material with
approximately 30,000 genes
Composed of repeating units of
nucleotides
Nucleotides consist of a 5-carbon sugar, a
phosphate group, and a nitrogen base
 Nitrogen bases are adenine (A), thymine
(T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G)
Specifically pair A-T and C-G
 Called complementary base-pairing

The
sequences of base pairs
grouped in threes (called codons)
 Codons code for a specific amino acid
Amino
acids are joined to make a
protein
Each protein has specific function

1.
2.
3.
The process in which a DNA strand
copies itself
Double helix is unraveled
Base pairs copy one strand of the
DNA while other nucleotides base
pair with the other strand
Results in 2 identical copies of the
DNA strand





The enzyme responsible for facilitating this
process is DNA polymerase
Scientists can now use DNA polymerase to
copy a DNA strand outside the living cell
Process is called PCR
(Polymerase chain reaction)
Which uses a DNA Thermal Cycler to double
the DNA and finally to multiply a million times


Useful for replicating small
pieces of DNA found at a crime
scene
Human Genome Project –
determined the order of bases
on all 23 pairs of chromosomes
 Genetic
code – the specific sequence of
letter that specifies a protein
 Restriction enzymes – certain chemicals
that cut DNA into fragments that can be
incorporated into another DNA strand
 Recombined DNA is usually with the
bacterial DNA
 Bacterial DNA multiplies rapidly which
produces new recombined DNA
 Uses include:
human growth hormone,
insulin production, crop production
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Why is DNA important to forensic scientists?
What are genes and what is their function?
Describe the basic structure of the DNA molecule.
Name the four bases associated with DNA. How are
these bases paired on the DNA molecule?
What aspects of DNA define the role and function of
a DNA molecule?
What is the human genome? Name two medical
applications of information about the human
genome.
Briefly describe the process of DNA replication.
What is PCR? Why is it useful to forensic scientists?
What is recombinant DNA? How is recombinant DNA
technology used to treat diabetes?