Genomes are composed of DNA, and a knowledge of the structure of DNA is essential to understand how it can function as hereditary material. DNA is remarkable, breathtakingly simple in its structure yet capable of directing all the living processes in a cell, the production of new cells and the development of a fertilized egg to an individual adult. DNA has three key properties: it is relatively stable; its structure suggests an obvious way in which the molecule can be duplicated, or replicated; and it carries a store of vital information that is used in the cell to produce proteins. The first two properties of DNA are analysed in this free course, What is the genome made of?
Overview
Syllabus
- Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 Overview
- 1 Overview
- 1.1 DNA and the genome
- 1.1.1 The chemical structure of DNA
- 1 1.2 How DNA is replicated
- 1.3 Chromosome structure and DNA replication
- Conclusion
- Take the next step
- Acknowledgements
