Deck 10: DNA Structure and Analysis

Question 1

What are the two major components of the Tobacco Mosaic Virus?

A) RNA and DNA
B) DNA and protein
C) RNA and protein
D) lipids and nucleic acids
E) carbohydrates and nucleic acids

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Reverse transcriptase is an enzyme found in association with retroviral activity.It has the property of ________.

A) synthesis of DNA from an RNA template
B) synthesis of RNA from a DNA template
C) requiring no template
D) translation
E) most lysozymes

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Experiments conducted in the 1920s by Frederick Griffith involving the bacterium Diplococcus pneumoniae demonstrated that a substance from one bacterial strain could genetically transform other bacterial strains.What was the name of the substance capable of such transformation,and who finally determined its identity?

Answer 3

deoxyribonucleic acid; Avery et al.(1944)

Question 4

Regarding the structure of DNA,the covalently arranged combination of a deoxyribose and a nitrogenous base would be called a(n)________.

A) nucleotide
B) ribonucleotide
C) monophosphate nucleoside
D) oligonucleotide
E) nucleoside

Question 5

Considering the Central Dogma of Molecular Genetics,what general property is ascribed to DNA?

Question 6

Present an overview of two classical experiments that demonstrated that DNA is the genetic material.Can RNA be the genetic material? Explain.

Question 7

In an analysis of the nucleotide composition of double-stranded DNA to see which bases are equivalent in concentration,which of the following would be true?

A) A = C
B) A = G and C = T
C) A + C = G + T
D) A + T = G + C
E) A = G and C = T and A + C = G + T are both true.

Question 8

In the classic experiment conducted by Hershey and Chase,why was the pellet radioactive in the centrifuge tube that contained bacteria with viruses?

A) The bacteria were in the pellet, and they had incorporated radioactive proteins into their cell membranes.
B) The radioactive viruses (coats plus DNA) were in the pellet.
C) The bacteria were in the pellet, and many contained the radioactive viral DNA.
D) The radioactive protein coats of the viruses were in the pellet.
E) The radioactive viruses were in the pellet, and the bacteria were in the supernatant.

Question 9

Which of the following clusters of terms accurately describes DNA as it is generally viewed to exist in prokaryotes and eukaryotes?

A) double-stranded, parallel, (A + T)/C + G) = variable, (A + G)/(C + T) = 1.0
B) double-stranded, antiparallel, (A + T)/C + G) = variable, (A + G)/(C+ T) = 1.0
C) single-stranded, antiparallel, (A + T)/C + G) = 1.0, (A + G)/(C + T) = 1.0
D) double-stranded, parallel, (A + T)/C + G) = 1.0, (A + G)/(C + T) = 1.0
E) double-stranded, antiparallel, (A + T)/C + G) = variable, (A + G)/(C + T) = variable

Question 10

Considering the structure of double-stranded DNA,which kind(s)of bonds hold one complementary strand to the other?

A) ionic
B) covalent
C) van der Waals
D) hydrogen
E) hydrophobic and hydrophilic

Question 11

What was the Avery et al.(1944)contribution to the understanding of molecular biology?

Question 12

Beatrice Mintz and others microinjected DNA into a fertilized mouse egg,which after reaching maturity could be transmitted to the mouse's offspring.What is the general term used to describe an organism that incorporates foreign DNA?

Question 13

Describe four major functions of DNA in a cell.

Question 14

In the 1860s,a Swiss chemist,Friedrich Miescher,isolated an acidic substance from cell nuclei.What was the name of this substance,and what was its significance?

Question 15

Briefly define transformation and describe the relationship between the phenomenon of transformation and the discovery that DNA is the genetic material in bacteria.

Question 16

Is the accompanying figure DNA or RNA? ________ Is the arrow closest to the 5′ or 3′ end? ________ Spleen diesterase is an enzyme that breaks the covalent bond that connects the phosphate to the 5′ carbon.Assume that the dinucleotide is digested with spleen diesterase.To which base and to which carbon on the sugar is the phosphate now attached,A or T?

A) DNA; 3′ end; T, 5′
B) RNA; 3′ end; A, 3′
C) DNA; 5′ end; A, 5′
D) DNA; 3′ end; A, 3′
E) RNA; 3′ end; T, 3′

Question 17

If 15% of the nitrogenous bases in a sample of DNA from a particular organism is thymine,what percentage should be cytosine?

A) 15%
B) 30%
C) 35%
D) 40%
E) 70%

Question 18

The classic Hershey and Chase (1952)experiment that offered evidence in support of DNA being the genetic material in bacteriophages made use of which of the following labeled component(s)?

A) phosphorus and sulfur
B) nitrogen and oxygen
C) tritium
D) hydrogen
E) None of the answers listed are correct.

Question 19

List two major differences between RNA and DNA at the level of the nucleotide.

Question 20

The basic structure of a nucleotide includes ________.

A) amino acids
B) tryptophan and leucine
C) base, sugar, and phosphate
D) mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA
E) phosphorus and sulfur

Question 21

At what approximate wavelengths do DNA,RNA,and proteins maximally absorb light?

Question 22

Provide an overview of the structure of Z-DNA.

Question 23

During the polymerization of nucleic acids,covalent bonds are formed between neighboring nucleotides.Which carbons are involved in such bonds?

Question 24

Is the accompanying figure DNA or RNA? Is the circle closer to the 5′ or 3′ end?

Question 25

What is meant by the term antiparallel?

Question 26

The base content of a sample of DNA is as follows: A = 31%,G = 31%,T = 19%,C = 19%.What conclusion can be drawn from this information?

Question 27

What type of chemical bond holds the two strands together in double-stranded DNA?

Question 28

Assume that the molar percentage of thymine in a double-stranded DNA is 20.What are the percentages of the four bases (G,C,T,A)? If the DNA is single-stranded,would you change your answer?

Question 29

Consider the structure of double-stranded DNA.When DNA is placed into distilled water,it denatures; however,by adding NaCl,the DNA renatures.Why?

Question 30

What is the name of the precursor molecule used in nucleic acid synthesis?

Question 31

If the GC content of a DNA molecule is 60%,what are the molar percentages of the four bases ?(G,C,T,A)?

Question 32

Name the pyrimidines and the purines in DNA.

Question 33

What is the difference between a polynucleotide and an oligonucleotide?

Question 34

Suppose that the dinucleotide in the accompanying figure was cleaved with the enzyme spleen diesterase,which breaks the covalent bond connecting the phosphate to C-5′.After such cleavage,to which nucleoside is the phosphate now attached?

Question 35

When and in which journal did Watson and Crick publish their now-famous paper entitled "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid."

Question 36

All other factors being equal,the renaturation of the three classes of complementary nucleic acid sequences occurs in what order,from fastest to slowest?

Question 37

What does it mean to say that double-stranded nucleic acids are antiparallel?

Question 38

List three forms of DNA.

Question 39

(a)Assume that A + T/G + C equals 0.5 in one strand of DNA.What is the ratio of these bases in the complementary strand? (b)If A + G/T + C equals 0.5 in one strand,what is the ratio of these bases in the complementary strand?

Question 40

Is the accompanying figure DNA or RNA? Is the circle closer to the 5′ or 3′ end?

Question 41

Avery et al.(1944)determined that DNA is the genetic material in T2 bacteriophage.

Question 42

Hershey and Chase used labeled DNA and protein to determine that DNA is the genetic material in bacteria.

Question 43

Explain how and why the following circumstances influence characteristics of temperature-induced DNA melting.
a) Percentage of GC base pairs
b) Urea (forms hydrogen bonds with bases)
c) Sodium chloride (neutralizes negatively charged phosphates)

Question 44

In RNA,uracil is present instead of the thymine in DNA.

Question 45

When considering the structure of DNA,we would say that complementary strands are antiparallel.

Question 46

DNA has no sulfur,and proteins have no phosphorus.

Question 47

In ribose,the 2′ C has an OH attached to it.

Question 48

In 1953,Watson and Crick published a paper that described the structure of DNA.

Question 49

The transforming principle discovered by Griffith is RNA.

Question 50

G and C are present in both DNA and RNA.

Question 51

Deoxyribonuclease is an enzyme that adds 3′-hydroxyl groups to RNA.