Structure and Function of DNA

Learning objectives

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Describe the biochemical structure of deoxyribonucleotides
• Identify the base pairs used in the synthesis of deoxyribonucleotides
• Explain why the double helix of DNA is described as antiparallel

DNA Nucleotides

The building blocks of nucleic acids are nucleotides. Nucleotides that compose DNA are called deoxyribonucleotides. The three components of a deoxyribonucleotide are a five-carbon sugar called deoxyribose, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base, a nitrogen-containing ring structure that is responsible for complementary base pairing between nucleic acid strands (OSC_Microbio_10_02_Nucleotide). The carbon atoms of the five-carbon deoxyribose are numbered 1ʹ, 2ʹ, 3ʹ, 4ʹ, and 5ʹ (1ʹ is read as “one prime”). A nucleoside comprises the five-carbon sugar and nitrogenous base.

The deoxyribonucleotide is named according to the nitrogenous bases (OSC_Microbio_10_02_Bases). The nitrogenous bases adenine (A) and guanine (G) are the purines; they have a double-ring structure with a six-carbon ring fused to a five-carbon ring. The pyrimidines, cytosine (C) and thymine (T), are smaller nitrogenous bases that have only a six-carbon ring structure.

Individual nucleoside triphosphates combine with each other by covalent bonds known as 5ʹ-3ʹ phosphodiester bonds, or linkages whereby the phosphate group attached to the 5ʹ carbon of the sugar of one nucleotide bonds to the hydroxyl group of the 3ʹ carbon of the sugar of the next nucleotide. Phosphodiester bonding between nucleotides forms the sugar-phosphate backbone, the alternating sugar-phosphate structure composing the framework of a nucleic acid strand (OSC_Microbio_10_02_NAcidStrand). During the polymerization process, deoxynucleotide triphosphates (dNTP) are used. To construct the sugar-phosphate backbone, the two terminal phosphates are released from the dNTP as a pyrophosphate. The resulting strand of nucleic acid has a free phosphate group at the 5ʹ carbon end and a free hydroxyl group at the 3ʹ carbon end. The two unused phosphate groups from the nucleotide triphosphate are released as pyrophosphate during phosphodiester bond formation. Pyrophosphate is subsequently hydrolyzed, releasing the energy used to drive nucleotide polymerization.

Discovering the Double Helix

By the early 1950s, considerable evidence had accumulated indicating that DNA was the genetic material of cells, and now the race was on to discover its three-dimensional structure. Around this time, Austrian biochemist Erwin ChargaffN. Kresge et al. “Chargaff's Rules: The Work of Erwin Chargaff.” Journal of Biological Chemistry 280 (2005):e21. (1905–2002) examined the content of DNA in different species and discovered that adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine were not found in equal quantities, and that it varied from species to species, but not between individuals of the same species. He found that the amount of adenine was very close to equaling the amount of thymine, and the amount of cytosine was very close to equaling the amount of guanine, or A = T and G = C. These relationships are also known as Chargaff’s rules.

Other scientists were also actively exploring this field during the mid-20th century. In 1952, American scientist Linus Pauling (1901–1994) was the world’s leading structural chemist and odds-on favorite to solve the structure of DNA. Pauling had earlier discovered the structure of protein α helices, using X-ray diffraction, and, based upon X-ray diffraction images of DNA made in his laboratory, he proposed a triple-stranded model of DNA.L. Pauling, “A Proposed Structure for the Nucleic Acids.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America 39 no. 2 (1953):84–97. At the same time, British researchers Rosalind Franklin (1920–1958) and her graduate student R.G. Gosling were also using X-ray diffraction to understand the structure of DNA (OSC_Microbio_10_02_X-rayDiff). It was Franklin’s scientific expertise that resulted in the production of more well-defined X-ray diffraction images of DNA that would clearly show the overall double-helix structure of DNA.

James Watson (1928–), an American scientist, and Francis Crick (1916–2004), a British scientist, were working together in the 1950s to discover DNA’s structure. They used Chargaff’s rules and Franklin and Wilkins’ X-ray diffraction images of DNA fibers to piece together the purine-pyrimidine pairing of the double helical DNA molecule (OSC_Microbio_10_02_DNAHelix). In April 1953, Watson and Crick published their model of the DNA double helix in Nature.J.D. Watson, F.H.C. Crick. “A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid.” Nature 171 no. 4356 (1953):737–738. The same issue additionally included papers by Wilkins and colleagues,M.H.F. Wilkins et al. “Molecular Structure of Deoxypentose Nucleic Acids.” Nature 171 no. 4356 (1953):738–740. as well as by Franklin and Gosling,R. Franklin, R.G. Gosling. “Molecular Configuration in Sodium Thymonucleate.” Nature 171 no. 4356 (1953):740–741. each describing different aspects of the molecular structure of DNA. In 1962, James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. Unfortunately, by then Franklin had died, and Nobel prizes at the time were not awarded posthumously. Work continued, however, on learning about the structure of DNA. In 1973, Alexander Rich (1924–2015) and colleagues were able to analyze DNA crystals to confirm and further elucidate DNA structure.R.O. Day et al. “A Crystalline Fragment of the Double Helix: The Structure of the Dinucleoside Phosphate Guanylyl-3',5'-Cytidine.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 70 no. 3 (1973):849–853.

DNA Structure

Watson and Crick proposed that DNA is made up of two strands that are twisted around each other to form a right-handed helix. The two DNA strands are antiparallel, such that the 3ʹ end of one strand faces the 5ʹ end of the other (OSC_Microbio_10_02_DoubHelix). The 3ʹ end of each strand has a free hydroxyl group, while the 5ʹ end of each strand has a free phosphate group. The sugar and phosphate of the polymerized nucleotides form the backbone of the structure, whereas the nitrogenous bases are stacked inside. These nitrogenous bases on the interior of the molecule interact with each other, base pairing.

Analysis of the diffraction patterns of DNA has determined that there are approximately 10 bases per turn in DNA. The asymmetrical spacing of the sugar-phosphate backbones generates major grooves (where the backbone is far apart) and minor grooves (where the backbone is close together) (OSC_Microbio_10_02_DoubHelix). These grooves are locations where proteins can bind to DNA. The binding of these proteins can alter the structure of DNA, regulate replication, or regulate transcription of DNA into RNA.

Base pairing takes place between a purine and pyrimidine. In DNA, adenine (A) and thymine (T) are complementary base pairs, and cytosine (C) and guanine (G) are also complementary base pairs, explaining Chargaff’s rules (OSC_Microbio_10_02_BasePairs). The base pairs are stabilized by hydrogen bonds; adenine and thymine form two hydrogen bonds between them, whereas cytosine and guanine form three hydrogen bonds between them.

In the laboratory, exposing the two DNA strands of the double helix to high temperatures or to certain chemicals can break the hydrogen bonds between complementary bases, thus separating the strands into two separate single strands of DNA (single-stranded DNA [ssDNA]). This process is called DNA denaturation and is analogous to protein denaturation, as described in Proteins. The ssDNA strands can also be put back together as double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), through reannealing or renaturing by cooling or removing the chemical denaturants, allowing these hydrogen bonds to reform. The ability to artificially manipulate DNA in this way is the basis for several important techniques in biotechnology (OSC_Microbio_10_02_Denatured). Because of the additional hydrogen bonding between the C = G base pair, DNA with a high GC content is more difficult to denature than DNA with a lower GC content.

Key Concepts and Summary

• Nucleic acids are composed of nucleotides, each of which contains a pentose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. Deoxyribonucleotides within DNA contain deoxyribose as the pentose sugar.
• DNA contains the pyrimidines cytosine and thymine, and the purines adenine and guanine.
• Nucleotides are linked together by phosphodiester bonds between the 5ʹ phosphate group of one nucleotide and the 3ʹ hydroxyl group of another. A nucleic acid strand has a free phosphate group at the 5ʹ end and a free hydroxyl group at the 3ʹ end.
• Chargaff discovered that the amount of adenine is approximately equal to the amount of thymine in DNA, and that the amount of the guanine is approximately equal to cytosine. These relationships were later determined to be due to complementary base pairing.
• Watson and Crick, building on the work of Chargaff, Franklin and Gosling, and Wilkins, proposed the double helix model and base pairing for DNA structure.
• DNA is composed of two complementary strands oriented antiparallel to each other with the phosphodiester backbones on the exterior of the molecule. The nitrogenous bases of each strand face each other and complementary bases hydrogen bond to each other, stabilizing the double helix.
• Heat or chemicals can break the hydrogen bonds between complementary bases, denaturing DNA. Cooling or removing chemicals can lead to renaturation or reannealing of DNA by allowing hydrogen bonds to reform between complementary bases.
• DNA stores the instructions needed to build and control the cell. This information is transmitted from parent to offspring through vertical gene transfer.

Multiple Choice

Fill in the Blank

True/False

Short Answer

Critical Thinking