Class 2: basics of molecular biology (2)


detailed outline: * genome structure and organisation - size of genomes - genome size vs. organism complexity [bml p.7-8] - eukariotic chromosome structure [ga p.473] - protein-coding dna, spacer dna, non-coding functional, unknown function, transposons - introns, exons (split genes) - repetitive dna - non-coding functional: centromeres [ga p.478], telomeres - extranuclear genomes: mitochondria, chloroplasts, plasmids [ga p.620ff] * cellular organisation, gene regulation, regulatory pathways - structure of the prokariotic / eukariotic cell - cell wall - mitochondria: energy conversion, food oxydation - nucleus: genome (chromosomes) - prokaryotes have none - chloroplasts: photosynthesis - endoplasmatic reticulum: - cytoskeleton: - endosymbiont hypothesis for mit, chlor - gene regulation: - negative control vs. positive control - transcription control (prevalent mechanism) - promoters, enhancers, regulatory proteins [ga p.513f] - m-rna degradation control - translation control - genetic redundancy (e.g., multiple copies of t-rna genes in genome) - signal pathways, integration, cascades (amplification) [bmc p.721ff, p.741, p.776] * reproduction, evolution, and phylogeny (1) - semiconservative replication - replication fork [bmc p. 259] - mutation: - spontaneous vs. induced (uv, chemical agents) - replication errors: transitions, transversions, frameshift, deletions, duplications - lesions: depurination, deamination, oxidative damage - proofreading? - repair mechanisms? - non-uniformity, hot spots
sources and materials: - Garret and Grisham: Biochemistry. Saunders College Publishing, 1995 (Parts of Chapters 1-7) - Alberts, Bray, Lewis, Raff, Roberts, Watson: Molecular Biology of the Cell. Garland Publishing, Inc., 1994 (Parts of Chapters 1-7) - Benjamin Lewin: Genes V. Oxford University Press, 1994. - Griffiths, Miller, Suzuki, Lewontin, Gelbart: An Introduction to Genetic Analysis. Freeman and Company, 1993. - Watson, Gilman, Witkowsi, Zoller: Recombinant DNA. Scientific American Books, 1992.