Biology Question?

Question

Explain how the nitrogenous bases pair is essential for the processes of DNA replication, transcription, and translation.
Also, Explain why the specific base pairing nature of DNA and RNA necleotides is essention for the processes of DNA replication, transcription, and translation.

Answer 1

Well, nitrogenous base pairing and specific base pairing in DNA and RNA are basically the same thing. The fact that the bases pair up equally and opposite allows for simple replication and transcription. Basically, each individual strand serves as a template that can create its opposite, identical pair. Thus, each single-strand of DNA can be used to replicate a new DNA strand or transcribe a ne RNA. This is essential for translation because translation requires the appropriate RNAs. If the nitrogenous bases did not pair up the way they do, with specific base pairings, replication and protein production would not be able to function the way it does and would require far more energy and result in a far greater number of harmful mutations.

Answer 2

As you know DNA is made of the nucleotides adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine.

A always binds to T
C binds to G
The two strands are complementary to each other.
So if you separate the two strands and then replicate each strand, you will get two strands of DNA that are exactly the same as the original double stranded DNA molecule. So that makes it essential for DNA replication. Any textbook would show a diagram of this; it's what Watson & Crick described.

RNA is transcribed off of the DNA (but only one of the strands of DNA -- this is known as the template strand.) Once again, the But instead of thymine, RNA uses uracil. RNA is generally single stranded. The RNA is transcribed off the template strand and is the reverse complement of the DNA strand.

Some mechanisms of translational control involve the intramolecular binding of RNA molecules, once again between A:U and C:G. Someimes various double stranded hairpin loops can form and various other structures which can be used by the cell to control translational starts and ultimately protein synthesis. You may also want to read about double-stranded RNA, which was the subject of a Nobel Prize this year. dsRNA is used in RNA interference studies to destroy RNA and prevent production of specific proteins.

Answer 3

my head. *groans*