Lecture, chapter 5 - DNA replication

We finished the chapter on DNA replication.

We discussed the process in which the DNA polymerase complex actually replicates DNA, including the DNA looping that allows both strands to be synthesized at the same time.

We also covered eukaryotic DNA replication, emphasizing the differences with prokaryotes.

Watch the following video or access this link to understand the main features of the replication process

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Section 1Module 2, Lab 05 - GAPDH nested PCRAmplifying the GAPC gene

Same lab as with section 2. Click here for information on it.

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Lecture, chapter 5 - DNA replicaiton

Today we started chapter 5, on DNA replication, and the third stop in our roadmap, on how genetic information is preserved and inherited.

We started a discussion on how DNA is replicated in prokaryotes, including the concepts of replication fork and replisome. We described the role of several enzymes on the process of DNA replication (DNA gyrase, DNA helicase, single strand binding (SSB) proteins, primase, DNA polymerase), and the fact that there are a leading and a lagging strand during the replication process, the latter being extended in bursts forming Okazaki fragments.

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Section 2Module 2, Lab 05 - GAPDH nested PCRAmplifying the GAPC gene

Thale cress, Arabidopsis thaliana
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Today we started the exercise in which students will learn the basics of nested PCR. We will work with the gene that encodes one of the GAPDH isomers, GAPC, in the thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), the model organism of plants. Some people call it "the fruit-fly of plants".

GAPDH is an enzyme in charge of catalyzing one of the reactions in glycolysis. There are several nuclear genes that encode GAPDH isomers (proteins with different amino acid sequences but with the same function), and we are targeting the gene GAPC in the A. thaliana genome. We ran a first round of PCR, with our initial primers, and on Wednesday we will do the second run, with the nested primers.

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Section 2Module 1, lab 4 - PCR of the PV92 Alu insertion locus

Today section 2 completed lab 4 in module 1. For more information click on PCR of the PV92 Alu insertion locus

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