Welcome to My Molecular Biology Class

1. Welcome to My Molecular Biology Class

2. Molecular Biology of the Gene, 5/E--- Watson et al. (2004) Part I: Chemistry and Genetics Part II: Maintenance of the Genome Part III: Expression of the Genome Part IV: Regulation Part V: Methods

3. Chemistry and Genetics Ch 1: The Mendelian View of the World Ch 2: Nucleic Acids convey genetic information Ch 3: The importance of weak chemical interactions Ch 4: The importance of high-energy bonds Ch 5: Weak and strong bonds determine macromolecular structure

4. Why Watson et al. want to tell us some stories about genetics and chemistry before we start the molecular biology?

5. Genetics [课堂] Inheritable traits (Mendel) Genetic material-DNA (Avery) Central Dogma [中心法则] (Watson and Crick) • Chemistry-mechanisms [自学] • Weak chemical bond interactions • Strong chemical bond energy transfer • 3.Weak and strong bonds determine macromolecule structure

6. A few points for using of the textbook 【Ch1 as an example】 • Carefully read each Part Introduction to find the connections between different chapters of each Part, and how the contents are organized. • Find the organization of each chapter by reading the Chapter Introduction. • Read the figures to understand the concept in each subtitle. • Main principles: from large view to details, from easy to difficult.

7. The focus of Ch1 and Ch2 • Recognizing the life of scientists. • Recognizing the value and nature of science. • Recognizing the characters displayed during the scientific activity: love of the beauty of nature, the faith of your creativity and the hope to be recognized.

8. Chapter 1: The Mendelian View of the World To explain how the genetic traits are transferred from the parents to the offsprings

9. Two important lessons to learn from Mendel’s discovery • The attitude to science:interested in discovering the wonders of the nature (laws, mechanisms) • The principle to conduct science:using simple models to understand the complicate or unknown story

10. Discussion 1 Why Mendelianism and Darwinism conflicted initially, how the conflict was resolved? (P15-16)

11. Discussion 2: Scientist and Science

12. Chapter 2: Nucleic Acids convey genetic information The stories/efforts led to the fundamental knowledge of life, which open a new era of modern biology

13. Ch 2 Nucleic Acids convey genetic information Avery’s Bombshell (1944): DNA can carry genetic specificity The Double Helix (1953) The genetic information within DNA is conveyed by the sequence of its four nucleotide building blocks The Central Dogma (1956) Establishing the direction of protein synthesis The Era of Genomics (2000)

14. Avery’s Bombshell (1944): DNA can carry genetic specificity A story written for 26 years Thinking 1: what do you learn from the efforts of George W. Beadle and Edward Tatum (1940s), Frederick Griffith (1928),Osward T. Avery (1940s)

15. 1928 by Frederick Griffith

16. 1944 by Osward T. Avery

17. Thinking 2: Why Avery made more recognizable contribution to the field than did Griffith?

18. The Double Helix (1953) The foundation of molecular biology Francis H. Crick James D. Watson

19. Thinking 3: what led to the success of Watson and Crick?

20. The Central Dogma (1953-1956) Setting the platform for molecular biology only takes 0.5 year or 3.5 years Exciting days of biologists Transcription RNA Protein DNA Translation Replication

21. The revised central dogma

22. Gene Expression

23. Ch 2 Nucleic Acids convey genetic information The purpose of Molecular Biology of the genes is to provide a firm foundation for understanding how DNA functions as the template for biological complexity. Remember: this book is living in the age of the Central Dogma in understanding life, post-genomic era will certainly tell us a more complex but I hope a clear story of life.

24. Part 2, Maintenance of the Genome, describes the structure of the genetic material and its faithful duplication. Part 3, Expression of the Genome, shows how the genetic instructions contained in DNA is converted into proteins Part 4, Regulation, describes strategies for differential gene activity that are used to generate complexitywithin the organisms and diversity among organisms

25. Part 5, Methods, describes various laboratory techniques, bioinformatics approaches, and model systems that are commonly used to investigate biological problem.

26. Chapter 3: The importance of weak chemical interactions Weak bonds indeed are vital for life, partly because they can form and break under the physiological conditions present with cells. (Dynamics is important)

27. Pages 45-53 are important to read List the reasons making weak bond vital for life

28. Chapter 5: Weak and strong bonds determine macromolecular structure

29. Ch 5: Weak and strong bonds determine macromolecular structure • Higher-order structures are determined by intra- and intermolecular interactions • The specific conformation of a protein results from its pattern of hydrogen bonds • Most proteins are modular, containing two or three domains • Weak bonds correctly position proteins along DNA and RNA molecules • Allostery: Regulation of a protein’s function by changing its shape