Title: BIO513: Lecture 1
1BIO513 Lecture 1
2Central dogma
The central dogma of molecular biology deals
with the detailed residue-by-residue transfer of
sequential information. It states that such
information cannot be transferred back from
protein to either protein or nucleic acid.
-Francis Crick
3The Alphabet of DNA
- DNA consists of a 4 letter alphabet, arranged in
complementary pairs on a sugar/phosphate backbone - A (adenine, a purine)
- C (cytosine, a pyrimidine)
- G (guanine, a purine)
- T (thymine, a pyrimidine)
4Bonds
- There are strict rules for the complementary
strands (with nucleotides linked by a hydrogen
bond). - A T
- C G
- G C
- T A
5DNA double helix
http//academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu
6Gene and Genomics
- A gene is the basic unit of heredity in a living
organism. All living things depend on genes.
Genes hold the information to build and maintain
their cells and pass genetic traits to offspring.
- The genome of an organism is its hereditary
information encoded in DNA
7 Species Genome size (Mb) Number of genes
Mycoplasma genitalium 0.58 500
Streptococcus pneumoniae 2.2 2300
Escherichia coli 4.6 4400
Saccharomyces cerevisiae 12 5800
Arabidopsis thaliana 125 25,500
Caenorhabditis elegans 97 19,000
Sea urchin 814 23,300
Drosophila melanogaster 180 13,700
Mus musculus 2500 21,000
Homo sapiens 2900 20-25,000
Oryza sativa 466 45-55,000
8RNA
- RNA is very similar to DNA
- RNA is usually single-stranded, while DNA is
usually double-stranded - RNA nucleotides contain ribose while DNA contains
deoxyribose. - and RNA has the base uracil rather than thymine
that is present in DNA.
9RNA structure
10Transcription from DNA to RNA
RNA
DNA
11Steps of gene transcription
Pol II
TFIID
activator
TATA
12Steps of gene transcription
Pol II
TFIID
activator
TATA
13Steps of gene transcription
Pol II
TATA
14Transcription factors recognizes specific
sequences
- AGCTGGT gene 1
- AGCTGGT gene 2
- AGCTGGT gene 3
- CGCTGGT gene 4
- CGCTGGT gene 5
- CGCTGGT gene 6
- GGCTGGT gene 7
- GGCTGGT gene 8
- GGCTGGT gene 9
- TGCTGGT gene 10
- TGCTGGT gene 11
- TGCTGGT gene 12
- .... ...
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15Protein
- Proteins are made of amino acids arranged in a
linear chain and joined together by peptide
bonds. - Proteins are used to execute almost all cell
functions (signaling, enzyme, structure,
regulation, etc.) - The biological functions of a protein is defined
by its structure and ability to bind.
16Translation
- mRNA is used as the template for protein
synthesis. - Proteins are made in the cytoplasm (outside of
the nucleus). - Translation starts from the AUG (START) codon.
17U C A G
U Phe Ser Tyr Cys U
Phe Ser Tyr Cys C
Leu Ser STOP STOP A
Leu Ser STOP Trp G
C Leu Pro His Arg U
Leu Pro His Arg C
Leu Pro Gln Arg A
Leu Pro Gln Arg G
A Ile Thr Asn Ser U
Ile Thr Asn Ser C
Ile Thr Lys Arg A
Met Thr Lys Arg G
G Val Ala Asp Gly U
Val Ala Asp Gly C
Val Ala Glu Gly A
Val Ala Glu Gly G
Genetic Code Three nucleotides (CODON)
determine a amino acid. 64 possible codons
correspond to 20 amino acids. Example AAA, AAG
- Lysine
18Topics of reading
- Genome sequencing technologies and their impact
on public health approaches - Analysis of gene expression
- Transcription factor regulation and motif finding
- Epigenetics and its role in transcription
regulation, development, and diseases. - Network structure analysis
- Tools and paradigms for network analysis
- Role of networks in offering systems level
insights in interpretation of disease - Genetic variation within human population
- Genome diversity in microbial pathogens
19Genome sequencing technologies and their impact
on public health approaches
- What is next-generation sequencing?
- How do you search for a short DNA sequence
fragment in a genome or large database?
20Genome sequencing technologies and their impact
on public health approaches
- What is next-generation sequencing?
- How do you search for a short DNA sequence
fragment in a genome or large database?
Mardis 2008
21Genome sequencing technologies and their impact
on public health approaches
- What is next-generation sequencing?
- How do you search for a short DNA sequence
fragment in a genome or large database?
Trapnell et al. 2009
Mardis 2008
22Analysis of gene expression
- Which genes are expressed in a given cell type
under a specific environmental condition? - What do these expressed genes do?
- What genes are expressed differently between
disease and normal tissues?
23Analysis of gene expression
- Which genes are expressed in a given cell type
under a specific environmental condition? - What do these expressed genes do?
- What genes are expressed differently between
disease and normal tissues?
Hughes et al. 2000
24Transcription factor regulation and motif finding
- How are gene expression levels regulated?
- To what extent is the gene expression pattern
encoded in the genome?
25Transcription factor regulation and motif finding
- How are gene expression levels regulated?
- To what extent is the gene expression pattern
encoded in the genome?
26Epigenetics and its role in transcription
regulation
- Why are different sets of genes expressed in
different cell-types? - How is tissue-specific regulatory information
inherited?
27Epigenetics and its role in transcription
regulation
- Why are different sets of genes expressed in
different cell-types? - How is tissue-specific regulatory information
inherited?
Mikkelsen 2007
28Tools and paradigms for network analysis
- How do the all the genes/proteins inside a cell
interact with each other? - How can we reconstruct a biological network from
experimental data?
29Tools and paradigms for network analysis
- How do the all the genes/proteins inside a cell
interact with each other? - How can we reconstruct a biological network from
experimental data?
Friedman 2004
30Network structure analysis
- Is a biological network made of modules?
- How does a biological network differ from a
random network? - Does biological networks change during
development and evolution?
31Network structure analysis
- Is a biological network made of modules?
- How does a biological network differ from a
random network? - Does biological networks change during
development and evolution?
Milo et al. 2002
Kim et al. 2008
32Network interpretation of diseases
- What does network analysis tell us about diseases?
33Network interpretation of diseases
- What does network analysis tell us about diseases?
Segal et al. 2004
34Genetic variation within human population
- How similar are the genome sequences of two
random individuals? - How much variation of gene expression can be
linked to genetic differences?
35Genetic variation within human population
- How similar are the genome sequences of two
random individuals? - How much variation of gene expression can be
linked to genetic differences?
Altschuler et al. 2008
36Genome diversity in microbial pathogens
- How many microorganisms are there living inside a
human being? - How do these microorganisms contribute to normal
physiology and diseases?
37Genome diversity in microbial pathogens
- How many microorganisms are there living inside a
human being? - How do these microorganisms contribute to normal
physiology and diseases?
Turnbaugh et al. 2007