Study of the structure and function of nucleic acids, including DNA replication, transcription, and translation.
Basic biochemical concepts: Understanding the fundamental concepts of biochemistry such as biomolecules, metabolism, enzymology, energy, and thermodynamics is essential to understanding DNA and RNA.
Nucleic acid chemistry: Understanding the structure and chemistry of nucleic acids, including DNA and RNA, including the structure of nucleotides, base-pairing, and the role of hydrogen bonds.
DNA replication and transcription: Understanding the process by which DNA is replicated and transcribed into RNA, including the different enzymes involved in these processes, and how the information encoded in DNA is preserved.
RNA processing: Understanding the post-transcriptional modification of RNA, including splicing, 5’-capping, and polyadenylation.
Gene expression: Understanding how genes are expressed, including transcriptional regulation, protein synthesis, and post-translational modification.
Genetic information storage and inheritance: Understanding how genetic information is stored and inherited, including the mechanisms of DNA replication, meiosis, and mitosis.
DNA repair and mutation: Understanding how DNA damage is repaired and how mutations occur, including the different types of DNA damage, repair mechanisms, and the consequences of mutations.
Genome structure and organization: Understanding the organization and structure of the genome, including the function of chromosomes, centromeres, and telomeres.
Epigenetics: Understanding the role of epigenetic modifications in gene expression, including DNA methylation and histone modification.
Biotechnology applications: Understanding the applications of DNA and RNA in biotechnology, including DNA sequencing, recombinant DNA technology, and gene therapy.
Evolutionary biology: Understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that shape the diversity of DNA and RNA sequences, including genetic drift, natural selection, and gene flow.
Bioinformatics: Understanding how to use computational tools to analyze and interpret DNA and RNA sequences, including sequence alignment, phylogenetic analysis, and functional annotation.
B-DNA: Most common type of DNA. It is a right-handed double-helix structure with 10 base pairs per complete turn.
A-DNA: A right-handed helix with 11 base pairs per turn.
Z-DNA: A left-handed helix with 12 base pairs per turn. It is found in regions of DNA that have high GC content.
messenger RNA (mRNA): Carries genetic information from the DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm, which use the information to assemble amino acids into proteins.
transfer RNA (tRNA): Carries amino acids to the ribosomes to add to the growing protein chain.
ribosomal RNA (rRNA): Helps form the ribosomes, which are the cellular structures that carry out protein synthesis.
small nuclear RNA (snRNA): Involved in the splicing of pre-mRNA molecules to remove introns.
microRNA (miRNA): Short RNA molecules that regulate gene expression by binding to mRNA and inhibiting translation, destabilizing the mRNA, or promoting mRNA degradation.
small interfering RNA (siRNA): Double-stranded RNA molecules that can silence gene expression by targeting mRNA molecules for degradation.
piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA): A type of small RNA involved in silencing transposable elements and protecting the integrity of the genome.
long non-coding RNA (lncRNA): RNA transcripts that do not translate into proteins but have a regulatory function in gene expression.