Strings 2008 1 1

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1 Background: Biological sequences

  • DNA, RNA, protein
    • universal molecules of life (from tiny micro-organisms to large mammals)
    • state the chemical structure of DNA, RNA and protein
      • DNA: 4 nucleotides, double helix, base pairing
      • RNA: 4 nucleotides, single stranded
      • protein: 20 amino acids, complex 3D structure
  • central dogma of molecular biology
    • = transfer of sequence information from DNA (mastercopy) to RNA (blueprint) to protein (construct)
    • introduce terminology: transcription and translation
    • universal code of life (from tiny micro-organisms to large mammals)
    • introduce the concepts of reading frames and reverse compliment
  • evolution and tree of life
    • discuss how organisms are related (evolution) and how this relations can be represented (tree of life)


Reading material:

Chapter 1 from Zvelebil and Baum's Understanding bioinformatics



goto Comparing sequences