Replication Errors
Replication Errors
Learning Outcomes
Structure of DNA
Structure of Replication
Replication Errors
Fixing mechanisms
DNA Structure
DNA exists as a double-stranded structure, with both strands wrapped
together to form the characteristic double helix. Each single strand of DNA
is a chain of four types of nucleotides. Nucleotides in DNA contain a
deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate, and a nucleobase. The four types of
nucleotide referred to the four nucleobases adenine, cytosine, guanine, and
thymine, commonly shorten as A, C, G, and T. Adenine and guanine are purine
bases, while cytosine and thymine are pyrimidines. These nucleotides form
phosphodiester bonds .Nucleobases are matched between strands through
hydrogen bonds to form base pairs. Adenine pairs with thymine (two
hydrogen bonds), and guanine pairs with cytosine (three hydrogen bonds).
DNA strands have a directionality, and the
different ends of a single strand are called the "3 ′
end and the "5′ end. By convention, if the base
sequence of a single strand of DNA is given, the
left end of the sequence is the 5 ′ end, while the
right end of the sequence is the 3 ′ end. The
strands of the double helix are antiparallel, with
one being 5′ to 3′, and the opposite strand 3 ′ to 5 ′.
These terms refer to the carbon atom in
deoxyribose to which the next phosphate in the
chain attaches. Directionality has consequences
in DNA synthesis, because DNA polymerase can
synthesize DNA in only one direction by adding
nucleotides to the 3′ end of a DNA strand.
DNA Replication:
After replication, mismatch repair reduces the final error rate even further. Incorrectly paired
nucleotides cause deformities in the secondary structure of the final DNA molecule. During
mismatch repair, enzymes recognize and fix these deformities by removing the incorrectly
paired nucleotide and replacing it with the correct nucleotide.
Incorrectly paired nucleotides that still remain following mismatch repair become
permanent mutations after the next cell division. This is because once such mistakes
are established, the cell no longer recognizes them as errors. Consider the case of
wobble-induced replication errors. When these mistakes are not corrected, the
incorrectly sequenced DNA strand serves as a template for future replication events,
causing all the base-pairings thereafter to be wrong. For instance, the original strand
had a C-G pair; then, during replication, cytosine (C) is incorrectly matched to adenine
(A) because of wobble. In this example, wobble occurs because A has an extra
hydrogen atom. In the next round of cell division, the double strand with the C-A pairing
would separate during replication, each strand serving as a template for synthesis of a
new DNA molecule. At that particular spot, C would pair with G, forming a double helix
with the same sequence as its original (i.e., before the wobble occurred), but A would
pair with T, forming a new DNA molecule with an A-T pair in place of the original C-G
pair. This type of mutation is known as a base, or base-pair, substitution. Base
substitutions involving replacement of one purine for another or one pyrimidine for
another (e.g., a mismatched A-A pair, instead of A-T) are known as transitions; the
replacement of a purine by a pyrimidine, or vice versa, is called a transversion.
Most replication mutations can also be caused by
various environmentally and spontaneous changes to
DNA. As with replication errors, most environmentally
DNA damage is repaired, which is chemically triggered
and causes a low rate of conversion to truly permanent
mutations .The same is true of so-called spontaneous
mutations. They are usually caused by normal chemical
reactions that go on in cells.most of these spontaneous
errors are corrected by DNA repair processes. But if
this does not occur, a nucleotide that is added to the
newly synthesized strand can become a permanent
mutation.
Finally ,of course not all mutations are "bad." But, because so
many mutations can cause cancer, DNA repair is obviously a
crucially important property of eukaryotic cells. However, too
much of a good thing can be dangerous. If DNA repair were
perfect and no mutations ever accumulated, there would be no
genetic variation and this variation serves as the raw material
for evolution. Successful organisms have thus evolved the
means to repair their DNA efficiently but not too efficiently,
leaving just enough genetic variability for evolution to continue.
References
https://evrimagaci.org/dna-hasari-ve-onarimi-hata-yapan-dna-parcalari-nasil-tamir-
edilir-11223
https://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql-replication-excerpt/5.7/en/replication-features
-errors.html
https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/dna-replication-and-causes-of-muta
tion-409/