CHEMICAL BASIS OF INHERITANCE
Learning Objectives
At the end of the unit, the students are expected to be able to:
1. List the chemical composition of nucleic acid.
2. Compare and contrast DNA and RNA.
3. Describe the molecular structure of DNA and RNA.
4. Explain why the DNA is the genetic material.
5. Prove that the DNA is the genetic material.
Characteristics of the Genetic Material
To fulfill its role, the genetic material must meet several criteria
1. Storage of Information. It has the capacity to carry all the necessary biological
information and contain the information necessary to make an entire organism. It is also
stable source of information.
2. Transmission of information. Capable of able to transmit the information from
generation to generation.
3. Replication. The molecule has the ability to duplicate itself accurately. The error rate
should be one or less than one per million.
4. Stability. The molecular structure must be stable so that mutation occurs at a very, very
low frequency.
5. Variation by mutation. It must be capable of changes. Error or mutation is faithfully
duplicated as the original and passed on to the next generation.
6. Expression of information. The information stored and carried must be decoded and
translated into action
Evidence that DNA is the Genetic Material
A. Indirect Evidence
1. Distribution of DNA. The genetic material should be found where it functions. Both
DNA and protein are present in the nucleus as part of the chromosomes. However,
protein is also present in the cytoplasm, while DNA is absent. Both mitochondria and
chloroplasts are known to perform genetic functions and DNA is also present in these
organelles. Thus, DNA is found only where primary genetic function occurs. On the other
hand, protein occurs everywhere in the cell.
2. The DNA content of haploid tissues vs diploid cells of various species. The
DNA content present in haploid tissues is half that found in newly formed diploid cell of
the same individual. No such consistent correlation can be observed between gametes
and diploid cells provide further circumstantial evidence favoring DNA over protein as the
genetic material.
Organism n (pg) 2n (pg)
Human 3.25 7.30
Chicken 1.26 2.49
Trout 2.67 5.79
Carp 1.65 3.49
Shad 0.91 1.97
3. Mutagenesis. Ultraviolet light is one of a number of agents capable of inducing
mutagenesis in the genetic material. Yeast and other fungi can be irradiated with various
wavelengths of ultraviolet and the effectiveness of each wavelength measured by the number
of mutation it induces. Parallelism of the UV absorption of DNA specific wavelengths and the
induction of mutation in fungi bacteria, corn, drosophila when irradiated at the same
wavelenght.
B. Experimental Evidence that the DNA is the Genetic Material
1. Griffith Transformation experiment. In 1928, Frederick Griffith, a medical officer,
conducted experiment using two strains of Diplococcos pneumoniae: the virulent (S), smooth
strain which forms smooth, shiny surfaced colony when cultured on agar medium due to the
presence of polysaccharide capsule and avirulent (S), rough type, without capsule. He
injected live and/ or heat killed into the mice. Below is the outline of his experiment.
a. Living type S were injected to the mouse and after several days the mouse died. Type
S type bacteria were recovered from the mouse.
b. Living type R were injected to the mouse after several days the mouse survived. No
living bacteria were isolated from mouse.
c. Heat killed type S bacteria were injected to the mouse after several days the mouse
survived. No bacteria were isolated from the mouse.
d. Living type R bacteria and heat killed type S bacteria were injected to the mouse.
After several days the mouse died. Type S bacteria were isolated from the mouse.
Interpretation:
There is something from the dead type S bacteria that transformed the avirulent type
R bacteria. Griffith called this process as transformation.
2. Oswald Avery, Collin Mac Leod and Maclin Mac Carthy. Avery et al. realized that
Griffith experiment can be used to identify the genetic material. They are interested in the
substance transferred from heat killed type S bacteria to the living type R bacteria. During
this time, scientists are aware the living cell is composed of carbohydrates, proteins, DNA
and RNA. They isolated and prepared extracts of different molecules and found out that
purified extract containing DNA transformed the R type to S type.
3. Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase Blender Experiment. Hershey and Chase (1952)
used T2 virus to identify the genetic material. T2 virus infects Escheria coli bacterial cells,
hence called a bacteriophage. The bacteriophage is composed of the protein coat (capsid)
and the genetic material is DNA. To identify the genetic material, Hershey and Chase
developed a protocol to separate the phage coat which is attached to the outside of the
bacterium, from the genetic material which is injected into the cytoplasm. They used
radioisotopes to label the protein (35S) and DNA (32P). The following is the summary in the of
their experiment.
1. Grow E. coli in media containing 35S and 32P. Infect with T2 phage. This will produce
new T2 phage that are labelled with 35S and 32P.
2. Into one flask, add 35S labeled phage; in the second flask, add 32P labelled phage. Add
uninfected E. coli cells. The media does not contain 35S or 32P.
3. Allow infection to occur.
4. Agitate solutions in blenders for different length of time to shear the empty phages off
the bacterial cells.
5. Centrifuge at 10,000 rpm
6. The heavy bacterial cells sediment to pellet, while the lighter phages remain in the
supernatant.
7. Count the amount of radioisotope in the supernatant with Geiger counter. Compare it
with the starting amount
Results
1. Blending removes 80% of 35S from E. coli Cells. 35S isotopes were found in the
supernatant.
2. 35% of 32P were present in the supernatant. Most of the 32P remains intact in E. coli
cells.
Conclusion
Most of the DNA was located inside the bacterial cells. The results are consistent
with the idea that the DNA is injected into the bacterial cytoplasm during infection,
which would be expected result if the DNA is the genetic material
4. Erwin Chargaff
It was known that DNA is a polymer of nucleotides, each consisting of a
nitrogenous base, a sugar, and a phosphate group. In 1950, Erwin Chargaff reported that
DNA composition varies from one species to the next. This evidence of diversity made
DNA a more credible candidate for the genetic material. Chargaff’s rules state that in any
species there is an equal number of A and T bases, and an equal number of G and C
bases
RNA as the Genetic Material
All known organisms have DNA as their genetic material. Some viruses, however,
use RNA instead.Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is composed of RNA and protein; it contains
no DNA. In 1956 Gierer and Schramm showed that when purified RNA from TMV is applied
directly to tobacco leaves, they develop mosaic disease. Pretreating the purified RNA with
RNase destroys its ability to cause TMV lesions. In 1957 Fraenkel-Conrat and Singer
showed that in TMV infections with viruses containing RNA from one strain and protein
from another, the progeny viruses were always of the type specified by the RNA, not by
the protein.
Structure of Nucleic Acid
The chromosomes are chemically composed of nucleic acids, proteins and lipids.
The nucleic acids are macromolecules composed of repeating units of nucleotides. Each
nucleotide is composed of a five carbon sugar (pentose), a phosphate group and
nitrogenous base. There are two general classification of nitrogenous base: the purine
(double ring) and pyrimidine (single ring). The purines are adenine and guanine and
the pyrimidines are thymine, cytosine and uracil. Adenine pairs with uracil and
thymine and guanine pairs with cytosine. Adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine are
present in DNA while thymine, uracil, guanine and cytosine can be found in RNA. The
pentose sugar found in the nucleotides is the ribose and deoxyribose. The pentose
component determines the kind of nucleotide and nucleic acid formed. Deoxyribose is
present in DNA while ribose sugar is present in RNA. The deoxyribose has a hydrogen
atom attached in the second carbon position.
The pentose sugar, phosphate and nitrogenous bases are joined together to form
a nucleotide. Glycosidic bond connects a pentose sugar to a nitrogenous base
(nucleoside) while a phosphodiester bond connects a sugar to the phosphate molecule.
The names of nucleotides and nucleosides are based on their components. The
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a double helix structure with pentose deoxyribose and the
bases adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine. It is found in the nucleus of the cell
specifically chromosomes. It is also found in the mitochondria and chloroplastid. It is used
as template in protein synthesis.
Components of a nucleic acid
Structure of a Nucleotide
DNA Structure
In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published the molecular structure of
DNA. When they started constructing their DNA model, they knew that it is composed of
nucleotides. However, they do not have any idea on how the nucleotides are assembled
to form a nucleic acid. The works of Chargaff and Franklin provided valuable information.
Erwin Chargaff showed that the amount of purine always equals the amount of
pyrimidine, and the amount of G equals C, and the amount of A equals T. Rosalind
Franklin’s X ray diffraction images of DNA showed a helical structure with regularities at
0.34 nm and 3.4 nm along the axis of the molecule.
The most widely accepted model for the structure of DNA molecule was proposed by
Watson and Crick model of DNA has the following structural characteristics.
1. The molecule consists of two polynucleotide strands coiled around each other in a
helical manner-“twisted ladder” structure”. The backbone of the strand is formed by
alternately arranged deoxyribose sugar and phosphate molecules which are joined by
the phosphodiester .
2. The sugar phosphate backbone is located on the outside of the double helix, and the
bases are found on the inside, so that a base on one strand points directly toward a base
on the second strand.
3. The two strands of the DNA double helix run in opposite directions, one in the 5’ to
3’ direction, the other in the 3’ to 5’ direction. The two strands are anti-parallel.
4. The two strands are held together by hydrogen bonds between the nitrogenous bases.
Adenine and thymine form two hydrogen bonds but not to cytosine and guanine. In the
double helix, cytosine and guanine form three hydrogen bonds to each other ina double
helix, but not to adenine and thymine.
4. Each sugar in the strand has one base horizontally attached to it at carbon 1. It can
be any of the four: adenine, thymine, guanine or cytosine. These four nitrogenous bases
can occur in any possible sequence along the length of a strand.
5. The diameter of the DNA double helix is 20 Ao. The length of each complete spiral
(turn or pitch) of the molecule measures 34 Ao. 10 pairs of nucleotides are present in
each complete spiral. Therefore, each nucleotide in the strand occupies a distance of 3.4
A0.
Molecular Structure of DNA (Adapted from Russel)
In 1962, Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins were awarded Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Features of the DNA
The DNA structure is stable due to the following reasons.
1. Strong covalent bond between the sugar and phosphate molecules (phosphodiester bond).
2. Specificity of base pairing. Adenine always pair with thymine while guanine always pair
with cytosine.
3. Many hydrogen bonds. Although H bond is a weak bond, they are present in large number.
There are three H bonds between guanine and cytosine and two H bonds between adenine
and thymine.
4. Hydrophobic stacking.
Structure of and Function of RNA
The ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a single stranded molecule that contains a pentose sugar
ribose and bases adenine, guanine, cytosine and uracil. There are three kinds of RNA – the
linear messenger RNA (mRNA), the clover leaf-shaped transfer RNA (t RNA), and the
spherical ribosomal RNA (rRNA). The mRNA specifies the sequence of amino acids in the
protein synthesis. It serves as intermediary between DNA and protein. The rRNA is found in
combination with proteins and associated with the structure and function of
ribosomes, the site of protein synthesis. It ensures the proper alignment of mRNA and tRNA
and ribosome during protein synthesis. It also catalyzes peptide bond formation between
amino acids. The tRNA carries the correct amino acid to the site of protein synthesis in the
ribosome.
References:
Brooker, RJ. 2012. Concepts of Genetics. Mac Graw Hill Co. Inc. New York USA
Ramirez DA, MS Mendioro and RP Laude.2019. Lecture in genetics. 11th Ed. University of the
Philippines at Los Banos. 7 Lakes Printing Press, San Pablo City.
Klug WS.
