15 Interesting Facts About DNA

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

15 Interesting Facts About DNA

DNA which is the short form of Deoxyribonucleic acid is an important polymer that is composed of two polynucleotide chains. These two polynucleotide chains coil around each other and form a double helix.

DNA carries the genetic instructions which are vital for the functioning, development, growth, and reproduction of all living organisms and several viruses. Alongside RNA, Ribonucleic acid, DNA is also a nucleic acid.

Together with proteins, lipids, and polysaccharides (which are complex carbohydrates), nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) are macromolecules essential for all forms of life. The polynucleotides of the two DNA strands contain simpler monomeric units, nucleotides.

These nucleotides gave one of four nitrogen-containing nucleobases (cytosine represented by C, guanine represented by G, adenine represented by A, and thymine represented by T). Base pairing rules make DNA have double strands through hydrogen bonds.

The strands of the double-stranded Deoxyribonucleic acid are important as they store the same biological information. This makes them more important in several investigations like finding the kin of someone in various incidents.

The information from the double-stranded DNA is replicated when the two strands are separated. DNA is a significant part of Science, biology, and forensics in the modern world. Let’s learn more about…

1. DNA is a Long Polymer made from Repeating Units 

The diagram shows nucleotides bound together, forming a sugar-phosphate backbone.Author Francescakb .WIKIMEDIA

The repeating units that make the DNA are known as nucleotides. DNA polymers may be large molecules with millions of nucleotides, even though each repeating unit is relatively small. Over its length, DNA’s structure is flexible and may coil into many forms, including tight loops. Moreover, it is made up of two helical chains that are connected by hydrogen bonds in all species. The chains have the same pitch and are coiled around the same axis. The radius of the two chains is 10 units (1.0 nm).

The nucleotide includes a portion of the molecule’s backbone and a nucleobase that connects with the other DNA strand in the helix. A nucleobase that is linked to a sugar is referred to as a nucleoside, while a base that is linked to a sugar and one or more phosphate groups is referred to as a nucleotide. A polynucleotide is a biopolymer made up of several linked nucleotides.

2. There are Three Varieties of DNA

DNA comes in three different types. These are A-DNA, B-DNA, and Z-DNA. Similar to the B-DNA type, A-DNA is a right-handed double helix. The DNA is protected when subjected to harsh circumstances, such as desiccation, by taking an A form. DNA takes on the A form when protein binding removes the solvent from it.

B-DNA; This right-handed helix is the most prevalent DNA shape. Under normal physiological circumstances, the bulk of DNA has a B-type shape.

Z-DNA: The double helix of Z-DNA winds zigzag-style to the left, making it a left-handed DNA. Andres Wang and Alexander Rich were the ones who found it. As it can be present before a gene’s start location, it is thought to have some effect on how genes are regulated.

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3. DNA can be Twisted like a Rope 

During DNA replication, strand separation leads to positive supercoiling. During transcription, strand separation leads to positive supercoiling. Author Kcneuman. WIKIMEDIA

DNA supercoiling is a technique that allows DNA to be twisted like a rope. A strand of DNA typically revolves around the double helix’s axis once every 10.4 base pairs when it is in its “relaxed” condition. Nevertheless, twisting the DNA causes the strands to coil more or less tightly.

Interestingly, Positive supercoiling occurs when the DNA is twisted in the helix’s direction, and the bases are retained closer together. The bases are more easily separated if they are twisted in the opposite direction, which is known as negative supercoiling. The majority of DNA in nature contains a little negative supercoil, which is brought about by topoisomerases, an enzyme. Moreover, the DNA strands’ twisting tensions caused by procedures like transcription and DNA replication must be relieved by the presence of these enzymes.

4. How DNA is Packed in Chromosomes Affects the Expression of Genes

An x-shaped chromosome is made up of tightly wound strands of DNA. DNA has smaller sections, called genes, which can “code” for physical traits. Author Thomas Splettstoesser.Wikimedia

How DNA is stored in chromosomes, in a structure known as chromatin, affects how genes are expressed. Base alterations can have a role in packing, with high levels of methylation of cytosine bases being present in areas with little or no gene expression.

Moreover, the histone protein core, around which DNA is wrapped in the chromatin structure, can be covalently modified, or chromatin remodeling complexes can remodel the chromatin, which can affect DNA packing and its impact on gene expression. Besides that, there is an interaction between DNA methylation and histone modification, allowing them to influence chromatin and gene expression in concert. X-inactivation of chromosomes, for instance, depends on the production of 5-methylcytosine, which is one product of cytosine methylation.

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5. Many Mutagens have the Potential to Harm DNA

DNA UV mutation. Author NASA/David Herring.WIKIMEDIA

Several different types of mutagens, which are substances that alter the DNA sequence, can harm DNA. In addition to high-energy electromagnetic radiation like X-rays and ultraviolet light, these agents also include alkylating and oxidizing chemicals.

Depending on the type of mutagen, a certain DNA damage pattern will result. For instance, thymine dimers, which are cross-links between nearby pyrimidine bases in a DNA strand, are one of the main ways that UV radiation harms DNA. On the other hand, the damage caused by oxidants, such as free radicals or hydrogen peroxide,  includes double-strand breaks and base alterations, notably to guanosine. Around 150,000 bases in a normal human cell have been oxidatively damaged.

6. All the Functions of DNA Depend on Interactions with Proteins

DNA interactions with proteins are necessary for all of its activities. Proteins may interact with DNA in a non-specific manner or by selectively binding to a particular DNA sequence. The polymerases that duplicate the DNA base sequence during transcription and DNA replication are particularly significant among the enzymes that can bind to DNA.

7. DNA’s instructions are used to make proteins in a two-step process

In a two-step procedure, proteins are created using DNA’s instructions. To create messenger ribonucleic acid or mRNA, enzymes must first read the information contained in a DNA molecule. The data in the mRNA molecule is next converted into the “language” of amino acids, which are the constituent parts of proteins.

By using this language, the cell’s machinery for producing proteins is instructed in exactly what sequence to join the amino acids to create a particular protein. There are 20 distinct types of amino acids, and they may be combined in several ways to create a vast range of proteins, making this a challenging undertaking.

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8. Human DNA has Roughly Three Billion Bases

The three billion bases that make up human DNA are almost identical in 99% of individuals. These foundational elements provide the framework from which our species’ common features are derived. The numerous characteristics that make each distinctive, such as eye color, skin tone, and body form, are all a result of the remaining one percent.

9. DNA has the Fascinating Ability to Make Copies of Itself

The process by which DNA makes copies of itself is called DNA replication. Amazingly, because a person’s DNA must be identical in every cell of the body, DNA has the interesting capacity to replicate itself. In this manner, it maintains genetic data and guarantees that once a cell divides, the resultant cells have precise copies of a parent cell’s DNA.

DNA is transferred from parents to their kids during reproduction and is sometimes referred to as the body’s genetic material. Each gene is present in two copies per individual, one from each parent (father and mother).

10. DNA Replication Takes Place in Three Stages

Step 2 of DNA Replication: Creation of a new strand with DNA polymerase.Author
Christinelmiller.WIKIMEDIA

The first step is an initiation; The origin of replication is the location where DNA replication starts. DNA helicase splits the two DNA strands apart. The replication fork results from this.

The step is Elongation; After reading the nucleotides on the template strand, DNA polymerase III creates a new strand by sequentially adding complementary nucleotides. For instance, it will add a Thymine to the complementary strand if it reads an Adenine on the template strand. Gaps arise between the strands as nucleotides are added to the trailing strand. The term “Okazaki pieces” refers to these spaces. Ligase fills in these holes.

step three is the termination; Replication ends when the termination sequence, which is present opposite the replication origin, is present.DNA polymerase movement is stopped when the TU’s protein (terminus utilization substance) attaches to the terminator region. It brings about termination.

11. DNA is found in Nearly all Living Cells

DNA in prokaryote cells.Author Mariana Ruiz Villarreal.WIKIMEDIA

The majority of live cells contain DNA. Yet whether a cell has a particular membrane-bound organelle called a nucleus determines where DNA is precisely located within the cell. Eukaryotic creatures are those made of cells with nuclei, whereas prokaryotic organisms are those made of cells without nuclei.DNA is stored within the nucleus of eukaryotes, but since prokaryotes lack a nucleus, it is found immediately within the cellular cytoplasm.

12. Recombinant DNA Technology is Widely used in contemporary Biology 

The technology of recombinant DNA is widely used in contemporary biology and biochemistry. A man-made DNA sequence that has been put together from different DNA sequences is called recombinant DNA. By utilizing a viral vector, they can be converted into organisms in the form of plasmids or a suitable format.  In addition to being cultivated in agriculture, genetically modified organisms can be utilized to create goods like recombinant proteins or for use in medical research.

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13.DNAzymes were First Discovered in 1994

DNAzymes, also known as catalytic DNA, were originally identified in 1994.  Most of them are single-stranded DNA sequences that were selected using a combinatorial process known as in vitro selection from a sizable pool of random DNA sequences.

Many chemical processes, such as RNA-DNA cleavage, RNA-DNA ligation, amino acid phosphorylation, dephosphorylation, and the creation of carbon-carbon bonds, are catalyzed by DNAzymes.

14. It Contains  Historical Information

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

Geneticists can determine the evolutionary history of species, and their phylogeny, by comparing DNA sequences because DNA accumulates mutations through time that are then inherited.

An effective tool in evolutionary biology is the discipline of phylogenetics. Population geneticists can determine the history of certain populations by comparing DNA sequences within a species. This may be employed in research spanning from anthropology to ecological genetics.

15. DNA is Used in Investigations

To find a person with matching DNA, such as a culprit, forensic experts can utilize DNA obtained in blood, semen, skin, saliva, or hair that was recovered at a crime scene.DNA fingerprinting and DNA profiling are two official names for this procedure.

By matching family members, DNA profiling is also effectively used to positively identify victims of mass casualty occurrences, corpses or body parts in major accidents, and individual victims in mass graves.

When an alleged parent is biologically linked to the kid, DNA profiling is also used in DNA paternity testing to identify if they are the biological father or grandparent of that child. In these cases, the likelihood of parentage is normally 99.99%.

16. It has a Higher Storage Density Compared to Electronic Devices

As DNA has a far higher storage density than electrical devices, it has a tremendous amount of potential as a means of storing information. Nevertheless, its practical usage has been hampered by expensive prices, lengthy read and write times, and poor dependability.

Every person’s genetic information is contained in a molecule called DNA that is present in almost all cells. It is in charge of producing the proteins that are crucial to the expansion and maturation of cells.DNA, which provides each living thing with a distinct genetic code, is the earth’s grand design for life. Whenever a component of this strategy fails, illnesses and other health issues may result.

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