DNA & Protein: Similarities in Structure

[Juwad]

how are DNA and proteins similar in structure?

 

[Stevedye56]

Put this in the Bio forum. You'll get more answers there. Read about DNA and then read about proteins off a website and then compare what you have learned.

 

[siddharth]

Put this in the Bio forum. You'll get more answers there. Read about DNA and then read about proteins off a website and then compare what you have learned.

I think this forum is fine for such homework questions.

how are DNA and proteins similar in structure?

What do you think? Have you looked up any resource? You need to show some work.

 

[Juwad]

proteins are made of amino acids? Dna made out of nucleotides..Dna is double stranded?

 

[geoffjb]

how are DNA and proteins similar in structure?

How detailed of an answer are you looking for? (I.e. is this a high school or a University assignment?)

As well, what class is this for? If it's chemistry, then you're looking at how chemical structure determines the structural properties of DNA and proteins. If it's biology, then you'll be looking at how nucleic acids and amino acids link together in particular fashions.

As was already mentioned, your own work so far is prerequisite for further help here.

 

[Juwad]

Well, it's a college level course being taught in hs...and it's biology :)

 

[geoffjb]

Well, it's a college level course being taught in hs...and it's biology :)

Okay. A high school biology course asking for a structural comparison of DNA and proteins should not be looking for too much.

What do you know about the structure of DNA? What do you know about the structure of protein? How do they compare?

 

[Juwad]

Dna is a double helix..made out of polynucleotides. Protiens are made up of amino acids(polymer)..

DNA: the phosphate group bonds with the sugar covalently? and the bases have hydrogen bonds..Protien consists of primary, second, tetiary and quaternary structures?

 

[geoffjb]

Dna is a double helix..made out of polynucleotides. Protiens are made up of amino acids(polymer)..

DNA: the phosphate group bonds with the sugar covalently? and the bases have hydrogen bonds..Protien consists of primary, second, tetiary and quaternary structures?

Consider this: When you buy ibuprofen (Advil), half of it is a complete waste. It is a racemic mixture consisting of ibuprofen and its enantiomer, which is a non-superimposable mirror image isomer. The only difference between the two is the orientation of one of the carbons (consider the squiggly line, seen here; one comes toward you [out of the page], and the other goes away from you [into the page]).

What I'm getting at is that a small structural difference can have enormous implications. Consider this with proteins and DNA in mind.

 

[Juwad]

I c..so you used advil as an example.. :P

 

[geoffjb]

I c..so you used advil as an example.. :P

The reason for the example is to show that a very minor change in structure can lead to a very major change in properties.

What would happen if you changed one amino acid in a protein? What would happen if you changed an A-T combo to a C-G combo in a selection of DNA?

 

[Juwad]

oh yea...now i see the code word would be different which would change the base

 

[geoffjb]

oh yea...now i see the code word would be different which would change the base

That's right. Think of it this way: With both protein and DNA, you're working with only 20 and 4 building blocks respectively, and yet you can produce products to the order of hundreds of thousands or millions. If I was your teacher, it is this aspect of comparison I'd be looking for.

 

[Juwad]

thanks geoffjb, are you a teacher or student?