RNA interference

This paper is going to describe the replication of DNA and RNA and the processes of transcription and translation of protein synthesis. What is DNA? DNA is a nucleic acid that carries the genetic information in cells and some viruses, consisting of two long chains of nucleotides twisted into a double helix and joined by hydrogen bonds between the complementary bases adenine and thymine or cytosine and guanine. DNA sequences are replicated by the cell prior to cell division and may include genes,…

It’s important to realize that each scientific break through is made possible by the work that came before it. It’s a lot like putting puzzle pieces together, collecting different important evidence until enough puzzle pieces result in another break through. Fifty years ago two scientists announced to a lunch time crowd that they had discovered the secret to life. How DNA changed the world To begin with scientists used to have no understanding of what caused distinct patterns of inheritance.…

Aspergillus nidulans: One of the lesser known pathogen of the aspergilli group, A. nidulans is a model filamentous fungus widely used for studying eukaryotic cell biology (Galagan et al., 2005). A. nidulans possesses a phospholipid-hydrolyzing novel cPLA2 protein, PlaA, which shows maximum similarity to mammalian-type cPLA2 proteins (α, β, γ) (Hong et al., 2005). Like the three isoforms of human cPLA2 proteins, A. nidulans PlaA also consists of two separate catalytic domainsA and B, and…

When we think “polymer”, we should not limit ourselves to its biological applications; polymers can do so much more. Polymers are the “recipe for life.” We find them everywhere we look. For example, turn to your friend. What is he or she made of? The answer is polymers. Polymers make up essential molecules in our bodies, such as proteins or nucleic acids. They may be microscopic, but their functions in our bodies are important. Background Information There is so much more to being…

The book I read for my Biology book report was, The Double Helix, A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA an autobiography written by James D. Watson. It was released in 1968 and was published by Atheneum Press (US), Weidenfeld & Nicolson (UK) and is 226 pages. As the title suggests, the book is Dr. Watson’s personal account of the groundbreaking discovery of the structure of DNA. Biologists already knew that genes were the material responsible for traits getting passed from…

Introduction DNA makes up the genetic material for all organisms. However, not all organisms have distinct molecules working with DNA that come together to make up chromatin. Chromatin is only found in eukaryotic cells, the cellular makeup of multicellular organisms. The structure of chromatin is composed of DNA and histones, together making up nucleosomes, and other non-histone proteins that bind to the DNA. The backbone of DNA is negatively charged and histones have a positive charge…

Function of potyvirus proteins The Potyviruses genome contains one open reading frame (ORF) which is translated as a large polyprotein (between 340k and 368k), that is cleaved into 10 functional proteins (Riechmann et al., 1992) such as: Protein P1, HC-Pro, P3 protein, CI, NIa , NIb, 6K1, 6K2, VPg. The potyviral P1 protein is a serine protease that cleaves at its own C-terminus (Verchot et al., 1991). This is the most divergent potyviral protein in size (30-63 kDa) and sequence except protease…

A prion is a infectious protein agent and the specific name of prion in BSE is PrP scrapie(PrPSc). The normal protein that is being acted upon by the protein is called cellular prion protein(PrPc). Prions are a problem because they are an abnormal form of a normal protein that is misfolded without an immune response. The strings of amino acids are put together to make proteins inside cell. Then they are then pushed together and folded into a framework letting them function properly. These prion…

Rad8 is a conserved protein, it was previously reported to be sensitive towards both UV and gamma irradiation during G1/S period in Schizosaccharomyces pombe (Doe et al., 1993). It consists of three conserved domains, including E3 ubiquitin ligase motif, SNF2 helicase domain, and a family specific HIRAN domain. Rad8 is required for error-free post-replication repair by contributing to polyubiquitylation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Up-regulation (12.52-fold) of Rad8 indicated…

the DNA unwinds and unzips leaving the base pairs exposed. Helicase is used in this reaction- the enzyme breaks the hydrogen bonds between the complementary bases. Activated RNA nucleotides then bind with the complementary base pairs exposed where A binds with U, G binds with C- the enzyme which catalyses the reaction is RNA Polymerase. The final mRNA strand which is produced is complementary to the original DNA strand. The mRNA is free to leave the nucleus through the nuclear pore and attach…