Overview

DNA Structure and Replication

In this lecture, Professor Richard Bowater (University of East Anglia) talks about DNA, its structure, its replication and how it can code for proteins. To do so, we: (i) discuss the microscopic structure of DNA, looking at what each monomer (nucleotide) is made of; before (ii) understanding the history of its discovery and the macroscopic structure; following onto (iii) DNA polymerase and its role in DNA synthesis; which then goes on to (iv) the coding and non-coding sections of DNA and how four nucleotides code for 20 amino acids; before (v) diving into the step-by-step process of how new nucleotides are added to DNA; and then finally (vi) understanding how DNA can be mutated and damaged, and some of the implications this can have on the proteins it codes for.

Overview

In the first mini-lecture, we are introduced to what DNA is by first discussing its function as the ‘instructions of life’, allowing cells to grow and divide. We talk about DNA (and RNA) as biological polymers, and discuss other examples of natural polymers such as proteins. To continue, we talk about the processes DNA undergoes all the time that lets it carry out its functions. We discuss the central dogma, as well as the importance of replication, recombination and repair in the maintenance of cells and DNA. To finish off, we look at the chemical structure of DNA, diving into the structure of a nucleotide, what they are made of, and the four different nucleotides we come across in DNA.