Central Dogma complementary base pairing A to T and G to C.

The two strands are

complementary to one another and run in an anti-parallel fashion, so
The central dogma of molecular biology explains the flow of genetic
five primes to three primes on this strand in the downward direction
information in a biological system. In general, we talk about DNA that
and five prime to three prime in the other strand in the upward
makes RNA that makes proteins. So, through the process of
direction. Replication of the DNA also occurs in these five primes to
replication DNA can make additional copies of DNA. Through the
three prime direction.
process of transcription, the DNA can be made into RNA and that RNA
is then translated into proteins. The central dogma states that
information flows in one direction from DNA to RNA to proteins.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

DNA is a polynucleotide chain made up of four bases A, T, G, and C:

Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine. A nucleotide is composed
of a base an A, C, T or G; a sugar and phosphate group. In the TB
Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)
genome there are approximately four million base pairs which
translates into approximately 4000 genes. DNA exists as a double RNA, ribonucleic acid. It is also a polynucleotide like DNA and formed

stranded molecule where the strands are held together through by four bases but we have Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine and Uracil.
There's no thymine in RNA. It's a single stranded molecule and as we DNA Replication: Overview
talked about in the central dogma of molecular biology, RNA is
Watson & Crick (1953) - proposed DNA structure & suggested how it
formed by transcription of DNA using an RNA polymerase. RNA can
might "selfduplicate". “It has not escaped our notice that the specific
form hydrogen bonds with multiple molecules including DNA, other
pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying
RNA and itself. RNA is a less stable molecule than DNA because it
mechanism for the genetic material.” – A. Suggested that replication
contains more reactive hydroxyl group on the two-prime carbon.
occurred by gradual double helix strand separation via successive
Deoxyribose sugar found in DNA and the ribose sugar found in RNA. breakage of H bonds, much like the separation of the two halves of a
Due to the presence of the hydroxyl group on the ribose Sugar, RNA zipper – B. Since each strand is complementary to the other, each has
is more reactive and less stable than DNA. The extra oxygen in the the information needed to construct the other; once separated, each
ribose sugar prevents the RNA from forming the appropriate strand can serve as template to direct the formation of the other
hydrogen bonds to create the very stable double helix structure that strand.
DNA can form.
Possible types of DNA replication –

1. Semiconservative - daughter duplex made of one parental & one

newly synthesized strand –

2. Conservative - 2 original strands stay together after serving as

templates for 2 new strands that also stay together; one contains
only "old" DNA, the other only "new" DNA –

3. Dispersive – integrity of both parental strands disrupted; new

duplex strands made of old & new DNA; neither the parental strands
nor the parental duplex is preserved
 replication is bidirectional, that is it proceeds in both directions from
the origin. there are actually two replication forks for each replication
origin.

DNA Replication

The first step in DNA replication is relaxation of the double helical The actual structure of a replication fork is complex. As the helicase
structure. This is accomplished by an enzyme known as DNA enzyme moves over the double-stranded DNA and opens it up, a
topoisomerase. This enzyme will cause the DNA molecule to unwind protein called a single stranded binding protein is bound to the newly
to a point at which another enzyme called a helicase will begin to single-stranded DNA to stabilize the integrity of the replication fork.
separate the two DNA strands. As the DNA strands separate, a This is necessary as single-stranded DNA is unstable and will degrade.
structure is created called the replication fork. The replication fork is At the replication fork there are two single stranded regions and each
the site at which DNA replication actually starts. Since DNA of them is replicated in a different way. The leading strand is oriented
such that there are available reactive hydroxyl groups that the polymerase fills in the gaps with DNA nucleotides. Finally, the Okazaki
polymerase can use and begin to synthesize the complimentary copy fragments, that are now composed of DNA only, are joined by an
immediately once a group of proteins called the primosome is bound enzyme called DNA ligase.
to the template. The polymerase then simply follows along behind
Transcription
the helicase making the copy as it goes. The lagging strand, on the
other hand, is not in the correct orientation for there to be available Converting a gene from the DNA blueprint into a complementary

reactive hydroxyl groups that the polymerase can work from. Here, single-stranded RNA sequence.

the synthesis reaction will also have a primosome but it also must be
primed with a short stretch of nucleic acid oriented in the proper
direction on the template. The primers used are RNA strands that
serve to provide the necessary reactive hydroxyls on the 3’ end. The
DNA polymerase binds to the template and the RNA primer and
begins to make a DNA copy of the template. The single stranded
structure, composed of an RNA primer and a DNA extension, is called
an Okazaki fragment.

While leading strand replication is continuous, lagging strand

replication is discontinuous being composed of hundreds of Okazaki
fragments that need to be linked together. The first step in the
process of linking the Okazaki fragments together is removal of the
RNA primers. Most of the primer is removed by the enzyme RNase H
and any remaining RNA nucleotides are “cleaned up” by an enzyme
called flap endonucleases as well as by the DNA polymerase that is
trailing just behind. Once the RNA nucleotides are removed, the DNA
Transcription initiation Elongation

To begin transcribing a gene, RNA polymerase binds to the DNA of Once RNA polymerase is in position at the promoter, the next step of
the gene at a region called the promoter. Basically, the promoter tells transcription—elongation—can begin. Basically, elongation is the
the polymerase where to "sit down" on the DNA and begin stage when the RNA strand gets longer, thanks to the addition of new
transcribing. nucleotides. During elongation, RNA polymerase "walks" along one
strand of DNA, known as the template strand, in the 3' to 5' direction.
Each gene (or, in bacteria, each group of genes transcribed together)
For each nucleotide in the template, RNA polymerase adds a
has its own promoter. A promoter contains DNA sequences that let
matching (complementary) RNA nucleotide to the 3' end of the RNA
RNA polymerase or its helper proteins attach to the DNA. Once the
strand. The RNA transcript is nearly identical to the non-template,
transcription bubble has formed, the polymerase can start
or coding, strand of DNA. However, RNA strands have the base uracil
transcribing.
(U) in place of thymine (T), as well as a slightly different sugar in the
Promoters in humans nucleotide. So, as we can see in the diagram above, each T of the

In eukaryotes like humans, the main RNA polymerase in your cells coding strand is replaced with a U in the RNA transcript.

does not attach directly to promoters like bacterial RNA polymerase. Transcription termination
Instead, helper proteins called basal (general) transcription
RNA polymerase will keep transcribing until it gets signals to stop.
factors bind to the promoter first, helping the RNA polymerase in
The process of ending transcription is called termination, and it
your cells get a foothold on the DNA. Many eukaryotic promoters
happens once the polymerase transcribes a sequence of DNA known
have a sequence called a TATA box. The TATA box plays a role much
as a terminator.
like that of the -101010 element in bacteria. It's recognized by one of
the general transcription factors, allowing other transcription factors After termination, transcription is finished. An RNA transcript that is
and eventually RNA polymerase to bind. It also contains lots of As and ready to be used in translation is called a messenger RNA (mRNA).
Ts, which make it easy to pull the strands of DNA apart.
Translation Each tRNA has an anticodon, a set of three nucleotides that binds to
a matching mRNA codon through base pairing. The other end of the
Translation involves “decoding” a messenger RNA (mRNA) and using
tRNA carries the amino acid that's specified by the codon.
its information to build a polypeptide, or chain of amino acids. For
most purposes, a polypeptide is basically just a protein (with the tRNAs bind to mRNAs inside of a protein-and-RNA structure called
technical difference being that some large proteins are made up of the ribosome. As tRNAs enter slots in the ribosome and bind to
several polypeptide chains). codons, their amino acids are linked to the growing polypeptide chain
in a chemical reaction. The end result is a polypeptide whose amino
The genetic code
acid sequence mirrors the sequence of codons in the mRNA.
In an mRNA, the instructions for building a polypeptide come in
groups of three nucleotides called codons. Here are some key
features of codons to keep in mind as we move forward:

• There are 616161 different codons for amino acids

• Three “stop” codons mark the polypeptide as finished

• One codon, AUG, is a “start” signal to kick off translation (it

also specifies the amino acid methionine)

These relationships between mRNA codons and amino acids are

known as the genetic code

Codons to amino acids

In translation, the codons of an mRNA are read in order (from the 5'
end to the 3' end) by molecules called transfer RNAs, or tRNAs.
Translation: Beginning, middle, and end needed to start making a new protein. Inside your cells (and the cells
of other eukaryotes), translation initiation goes like this: first, the
Translation has pretty much the same three parts, but they have
tRNA carrying methionine attaches to the small ribosomal subunit.
fancier names: initiation, elongation, and termination.
Together, they bind to the 5' end of the mRNA by recognizing the 5'
• Initiation ("beginning"): in this stage, the ribosome gets GTP cap (added during processing in the nucleus). Then, they "walk"
together with the mRNA and the first tRNA so translation can along the mRNA in the 3' direction, stopping when they reach the
begin. start codon (often, but not always, the first AUG).

• Elongation ("middle"): in this stage, amino acids are brought Elongation

to the ribosome by tRNAs and linked together to form a
Elongation is when the polypeptide chain gets longer. Our first,
chain.
methionine-carrying tRNA starts out in the middle slot of the
• Termination ("end"): in the last stage, the finished ribosome, called the P site. Next to it, a fresh codon is exposed in
polypeptide is released to go and do its job in the cell. another slot, called the A site. The A site will be the "landing site" for

Initiation the next tRNA, one whose anticodon is a perfect (complementary)

match for the exposed codon. Once the matching tRNA has landed
In order for translation to start, we need a few key ingredients. These
in the A site, it's time for the action: that is, the formation of
include:
the peptide bond that connects one amino acid to another. This step
• A ribosome (which comes in two pieces, large and small) transfers the methionine from the first tRNA onto the amino acid of
• An mRNA with instructions for the protein we'll build the second tRNA in the A site.
• An "initiator" tRNA carrying the first amino acid in the
Once the peptide bond is formed, the mRNA is pulled onward
protein, which is almost always methionine (Met)
through the ribosome by exactly one codon. This shift allows the first,
During initiation, these pieces must come together in just the right empty tRNA to drift out via the E ("exit") site. It also exposes a new
way. Together, they form the initiation complex, the molecular setup codon in the A site, so the whole cycle can repeat.
And repeat it does...from a few times up to a mind-boggling 33,000 References:
times! The protein titin, which is found in your muscles and is the
E.V. Evangelista, L. T. Evangelista & L. V. Evangelista. (2013). Worktext
longest known polypeptide, can have up to 33, 000 amino acids.
in General Zoology (Frog and Human Bodies Compared). C&E
Termination Publishing Inc.

Polypeptides, like all good things, must eventually come to an end. Hickman, C. et. al. 2006. Integrated Principles of Zoology 13th ed.
Translation ends in a process called termination. Termination McGraw – Hill.
happens when a stop codon in the mRNA (UAA, UAG, or UGA) enters
Retrieved from
the A site.
https://www.thoughtco.com/protein-synthesis-translation-373400
Stop codons are recognized by proteins called release factors, which
fit neatly into the P site (though they aren't tRNAs). Release factors
mess with the enzyme that normally forms peptide bonds: they make
it add a water molecule to the last amino acid of the chain. This
reaction separates the chain from the tRNA, and the newly made
protein is released.