Study Guide: DNA, RNA, Proteins

To-Do Date: Oct 9 at 11:59am

Cartoon:

In the comic, an mRNA strand glares at a smug looking DNA strand. The mRNA says "I'm telling you, Carol.

I'm DONE being this guy's messenger boy. He can leave the nucleus and do it himself for all I care!" 

What differences between DNA and RNA can you learn from the comic?

Why is the mRNA calling itself a "messenger?" What message does it carry?

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DNA, RNA, Proteins

Last week we learned the basics about eukaryotic cells, prokaryotic cells and viruses. Now we need to examine each of these structures in more detail.  Specifically, we are going to learn about how DNA controls cells' functions by controlling which proteins get made in a cell.  In lab, we will delve into one particular group of proteins, called enzymes. 

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the module, students will be able to:

• Identify the key features of DNA and RNA-  What are they made of? what roles do they fill for living organisms)? What are chromosomes, genes, alleles,  mRNA, ribosomes?
• Explain the relationship between DNA, RNA, proteins and phenotype/traits: How does the DNA get transcribed into RNA? How does the RNA get translated into protein? What is the relationship between the DNA sequence of a gene and the mRNA sequence and the protein amino acid sequence? What is the relationship between proteins amino acid sequence, protein folding and protein function? 
• Apply the principle of structure and function to proteins:  What are they made of? What are the differences between amino acids? How does the amino acid sequence affect folding? How does folding affect shape? How does shape affect function?
• DNA sequences determines protein structure, determines organism function: the function of organisms is determined by their cells. the function of cells is determined by the specific proteins they contain. The function of protiens is determined by the amino acid sequence. The aminio acid seq is determined by the DNA sequence= ie the genes