DNA : Its importance & its stucture

We take birth by fusion of male sperm called as male gamete and a female egg/ovum called as
female gamete resulting in a zygote which then divide and grow to become a baby and
ultimately become a fully grown adult.
From a single sperm and an egg, how come such a large and complex human being or any
other animals have developed?
So lets see what does the sperm and egg have.
It is basically the DNA of both which come together and provide the complete genetic code that
our body would use for all of our life from growth to death.
So what are the functions of DNA?
1. Contains genes that have vital information for bodys cellular functioning
2. Helps in synthesizing protein by providing a coded information through messenger RNA
(m-rna) to other cellular components like ribosomes
3. Able to replicate themselves so that the DNA could be present in all new cells arising
from growth and division to help the new cells with genetic information needed for
functioning
So we see one of the major activity of DNA is to code for protein i.e. proving all information to
synthesize protein. Lets try to understand the impact of protein in bodys functioning or life as
such
Proteins are virtually involved in almost all cell functions. You cannot imaging any cellular
activity without the help of protein. Some of the types of proteins are
1. Antibodies - are specialized proteins involved in defending the body from foreign
invaders called antigens. They can travel through the bloodstream and are utilized by the
immune system to identify and neutralize pathogens such as bacteria and viruses or any
other foreign intruders.

2. Contractile Proteins - are responsible for movement. Examples include actin and
myosin. These proteins are involved in muscle contraction and movement.

3. Enzymes - Enzymes are incredibly efficient and highly specific biological catalysts.
Catalysts are substances that facilitate chemical reactions. So enzymes are proteins that
facilitate biochemical reactions. In fact, the human body would not exist without
enzymes because the chemical reactions required to maintain the body simply would not
occur fast enough. Some examples are the enzymes lactase and pepsin. Lactase breaks
down the sugar lactose found in milk to glucose and galactose which could be easily
absorbed by cells. Pepsin is a digestive enzyme that works in the stomach to break down
proteins in food.
Think about the candy you ate. The sugar in it was converted to CO 2 , H 2 O, and
chemical energy within seconds of being absorbed by your cells, and this chemical
energy enabled you to see, think, and move. However, the entire bag of candy in your
kitchen can sit for years and still not be converted to CO 2 and H 2 O. The net reaction
(glucose 6 O 2 6 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O) is the same in both cases, and both pathways are
thermodynamically favorable. However, the human body speeds the overall reaction
through a series of enzyme-mediated steps. The key is in the catalytic power of enzymes
to drive reactions on a time scale required to digest food, relay signals via the nervous
system, and contract muscles.
How do enzymes do what they do? They make the reaction energetically more favorable.
This environment, the active site , is typically a pocket that is lined with amino
acids whose side chains bind the substrate (such as sugar) and aid in its chemical
transformation to products (see Figure 1). Therefore, the amino acids that form the active
site provide the specificity of substrate binding and the chemical environment to make
the reaction faster than it otherwise would.
Many heritable genetic disorders like Gauchers disease occur because there is a
deficiency enzyme glucocerebrosidase. Without adequate amounts of this enzyme, a
fatty substance called glucocerebroside accumulates in the internal organs, including the
brain. The disorder is characterized by bruising, fatigue, anemia, low blood platelets, and
enlargement of the liver and spleen. Other disease conditions like cancer results from
excessive activity of one or more enzymes. Routine medical tests monitor the activity of
enzymes in the blood, and many of the prescription drugs (penicillin, methotrexate) exert
their effects through interactions with enzymes.
4. Hormonal Proteins - are messenger proteins which help to coordinate certain bodily
activities. Examples include insulin, oxytocin, and somatotropin. Insulin regulates glucose
metabolism by controlling the blood-sugar concentration. Oxytocin stimulates
contractions in females during childbirth. Somatotropin is a growth hormone that
stimulates protein production in muscle cells.
5. Structural Proteins - are fibrous and stringy and provide support. Examples include
keratin, collagen, and elastin. Keratins strengthen protective coverings such as hair,
quills, feathers, horns, and beaks. Collagens and elastin provide support for connective
tissues such as tendons and ligaments.
6. Storage Proteins - store amino acids. Examples include ovalbumin and casein. Ovalbumin
is found in egg whites and casein is a milk-based protein.

7. Transport Proteins - are carrier proteins which move molecules from one place to another
around the body. Examples include hemoglobin and cytochromes. Hemoglobin transports
oxygen through the blood via red blood cells. Cytochromes operate in theelectron
transport chain as electron carrier proteins.

So we now understand the role of proteins in body and these proteins are created with the
help of DNA. DNA is responsible for which type of protein and at what time it would be
generated. Specificity of protein is described or conveyed through the genetic code written
in DNA.
So what should be the characteristics of the structure of such a important molecule, DNA.
1. It should have specific type of language i.e. coding language to communicate with
other cell parts to produce the type of protein it wants and replicate the DNA exactly
same as it is. Proteins are bascically chains of amino acids. There are total 20 kinds of
aminoacids. The sequence of amino acid determine the type of protein.
2. It should be stable i.e. it should be prone to errors else the codes will be wrong and
the whole thing would collapse or the purpose will be defeated i.e. correct proteins
wont be produced and the normal body functioning wont occur anymore.
These characteristics are fullfilled by DNA molecule. Lets see the structure of DNA molecule:
This is a model of a DNA molecule

This can also be represented as

This is basically 2 strands of sugar-phospahte molecules which you see here as backbone and
both are connected through the nitrogenous base with the pairing A double bond T, G triple
bond C to give it an appearance of ladder and then it is twisted to get the structure known as
doule helix:

(Wolframalpha)

Lets get into the molecular structure in detail

DNA is a polynucleotide chain. The other poly nucleotide chain is RNA. DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid and RNA is only Ribo-nucleic acid.
So what constitutes a nucleotide?
Nucleotide = Nucleoside + phospate
Nucleoside = pentose Sugar (Ribose or deoxy-ribose) + nitrogenous base

Hence a nucleootide has 3 components: a nitrogenous base, pentose sugar and a phosphhate
group
Nitrogenous bases are broadly of 2 types:
Purine & Pyrimidine. Purine have 2 rings and pyrimidine have 1 ring
Adenine and guanine are purine type nitrogenous bases in biological systems and Thymine,
cytosine and uracil are pyrimidine type nitrogenous bases in biological system.
Lets see the structures of these bases:

Now lets make the backbone of DNA. The back bone is a chain of deoxyribose sugar, and
phosphate group:

Then show the bonding of the backbone with purines and pyrimidines (i.e. one strand of DNA is
ready)
Show that 5 end: free phosphate and 3 end is alcohol OH (Remember this)
Now show the hydrogen bondings between purine and pyrimidine as purine can only be paired
with a specific type of pyrimidine. Show it through molecular structure. So now its fixed that A-

T, G-C. and purine only with pyrimidine (so that uniform distance can be there between 2
strands).
Why DNA is acidic inspite having bases ? Bcoz the phosphate is acidic
Then show what if the strands run parallel. So its not possible and hence antiparallel
Then show why it is a twisted structure:
Lets see how well each part of DNA dissolves in water!
As we know sugar molecule dissolve in water, it is called "water-soluble" or hydrophilic.
Phosphates aren't as well known as sugars but they are really important for our body. They are also used in baking mixes, fertilizer, and lots of other
things. To be used in these ways, phosphates need to be able to dissolve in water too.
Okay, the sugars and the phosphates are water-soluble and so are called hydrophilic molecules. What about the bases?
The bases, the famous A, G, T, and C's hate water. They are not water-soluble, they are hydrophobic.
What happens to these molecules when you put them in water? Something similar to what happens when you mix oil and water. All the oil droplets
will pool together and self-associate and not blend with the water.
Most of the space in the cells is filled by water. How are these hydrophobic or water-insoluble bases going to exist in the cell?
They become water-soluble once they attach to a sugar and a phosphate to form a "nucleotide", the building block of DNA. To avoid water, the bases
have to stack themselves in the center, while the sugar and phosphates have to stay outside : show only 1 strand (fig 1)
But if the bases just stack themselves, this will still leave space between the bases through which water can sneak in (see 1). This space needs to be
covered up.
One obvious way to cover up this space is to bring in another chain to cover it up forming a straight ladder (see 2). This is one of the reasons why
DNA is double stranded.
This still doesn't take care of the holes between the bases. One solution to get rid of the 'holes' is to skew the ladder to one side (see 3). We can think
about this as turning a ladder into a staircase.
It turns out that although the skewed ladder closes the 'holes', it introduces a new problem. In this arrangement, neighboring atoms bump into each
other.
To avoid bumping into each other, the staircase has to twist a little bit. This turns our staircase into a spiral staircase. This extra twist at the end is the
reason for the helical shape.
Phew! You'd think something as elegant and beautiful as the famed double helix would be easier to explain but it's not.

More reasons for DNA to be double stranded as choosen or selected by evolution as evolution let you to keep the best things with you and use only the best
things.
DNA is absolutely frantic in its efforts to keep itself from undergoing mutations. Mutations are generally bad things (Dawkins once famously said that there are
many more ways of being dead than they are of being alive), and a zero-mutation rate is evolutionarily favoured. DNA, not RNA, is the ultimate genetic
repository of information, and so you would expect it to be fiercely guarded. In this regard, being double-stranded helps in at least two ways.

Firstly, the 'information' part of DNA is the nitrogenous base, as opposed to the pentose sugar or the phosphate residues. In a single-stranded molecule, this
important part would be exposed to the cellular environment, providing more opportunity for it to be mutated by the various chemicals there. In a doublestranded configuration, however, the two nitrogenous bases are locked within the complex, facing each other in the centre of the molecule. This organisation
helps to safeguard them from local mutagens.
Secondly, having two complementary strands facing each other fundamentally means having two copies of the same thing placed right next to each other. This
allows forproof-reading. George C. Williams summarised this beautifully in this pithy passage** (recall that adenine [A] on one strand should always bind to a
thymine [T] on the complementary strand, and visa versa; likewise cytosine [C] always binds to guanine [G], and vice versa):
[Imagine a] gene containing the sequence CCAXT. The X cannot possibly be right because, whatever it is, it is not one of the expected DNA components. Fortunately, all we need to do
here is to consult the complementary strand of the DNA. If it is GGTCA, we immediately know that the X should be replaced by a G.

In this way, mutations may be corrected or at least limited. (Actually, the proof-reading exercise and mechanism is not usually so simple as
the above, but that doesn't matter for the present purposes.) And the proof is in the pudding. When you compare viruses that use DNA as the
repository of their genetic material with those that use RNA, it can be seen that RNA has a higher mutation rate than the more robust and correctable DNA.
When used mainly as an intermediary between genes and proteins (rather than as an ultimate repository, like with the viruses above), RNA doesn't need this
elaborate double-stranded structure. It is rather unlikely that the mRNA strand will mutate before it carries out its job anyway, but if it should, a perfect new one
could always be synthesised from the DNA again. More importantly, the chemical inertness that double-strandedness grants to DNA would be a hindrance in the
case of RNA, which relies on its ability to fold and contort somewhat (a little like a protein) to accomplish some of its tasks.

So why nucleic acid acts as genetic material? Because it have specific pairing and hence can
act as code.then show how to do if I want a specific information in one strand and breifly
explain how it codes for DNA