Class 2: basics of molecular biology (2)


detailed outline:

* genome structure and organisation
  - size of genomes
  - genome size vs. organism complexity [bml p.7-8]
  - eukariotic chromosome structure [ga p.473]
  - protein-coding dna, spacer dna, non-coding functional,
	unknown function, transposons
  - introns, exons (split genes)
  - repetitive dna
  - non-coding functional: centromeres [ga p.478], telomeres
  - extranuclear genomes: mitochondria, chloroplasts, plasmids [ga p.620ff]

* cellular organisation, gene regulation, regulatory pathways
  - structure of the prokariotic / eukariotic cell
    	- cell wall
    	- mitochondria: energy conversion, food oxydation
	- nucleus: genome (chromosomes) - prokaryotes have none
	- chloroplasts: photosynthesis
	- endoplasmatic reticulum:
	- cytoskeleton: 
  - endosymbiont hypothesis for mit, chlor
  - gene regulation: 
	- negative control vs. positive control
	- transcription control (prevalent mechanism)
		- promoters, enhancers, regulatory proteins [ga p.513f]
	- m-rna degradation control
	- translation control
	- genetic redundancy (e.g., multiple copies of t-rna genes in genome)

  - signal pathways, integration, cascades (amplification)
	[bmc p.721ff, p.741, p.776]

* reproduction, evolution, and phylogeny (1)
  - semiconservative replication
  - replication fork [bmc p. 259]
  - mutation: 
    - spontaneous vs. induced (uv, chemical agents)
    - replication errors:
      transitions, transversions, frameshift, 
      deletions, duplications
    - lesions: depurination, deamination, oxidative damage
    - proofreading?
    - repair mechanisms?
    - non-uniformity, hot spots


sources and materials:

- Garret and Grisham: Biochemistry. Saunders College Publishing, 1995
	(Parts of Chapters 1-7)
- Alberts, Bray, Lewis, Raff, Roberts, Watson: Molecular Biology of the Cell.
	Garland Publishing, Inc., 1994
	(Parts of Chapters 1-7)

- Benjamin Lewin: Genes V. Oxford University Press, 1994.
- Griffiths, Miller, Suzuki, Lewontin, Gelbart: An Introduction to Genetic Analysis.
	Freeman and Company, 1993.
- Watson, Gilman, Witkowsi, Zoller: Recombinant DNA. Scientific American Books, 1992.