Introduction to Biotechnology Lecture 4

Study Notes

Shows the process of replication, transcription, and translation of DNA and RNA to produce proteins
Replication: DNA → DNA
Transcription: DNA → RNA
Translation: RNA → Protein

Covers the complexity of gene regulation mechanisms
Includes replication, transcriptional regulation, reverse transcription, and translation regulation
Mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, SUMOylation, glycosylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, methylation, acylation, polyamination, and hydroxylation are mentioned
Focuses on how these processes affect the production of functional proteins (mRNA processing and alternative splicing)

Genetic code is a triplet code
Explains how three nucleotides form a codon which is "read" from a starting point in mRNA
Shows a table of codons and the corresponding amino acids
Properties of the genetic code: triplet code, non-ambiguous, universal, degenerate, no overlapping code, commaless, start and stop codons, polarity

Proteins are polymers of α-amino acids
Proteins are constructed from 20 common amino acids
Nitrogen forms 16% of the weight of proteins
Proteins' diverse roles, functions, structures, types, and biological importance are covered
Includes their role as enzymes, receptors, antibodies, and hormones
Discusses the different types of protein structures (primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary)
Discusses Protein folding (spontaneous and facilitated by chaperones)
Proteins are also classified into globular and fibrous proteins

Globular and fibrous proteins are two major types of proteins categorized by shape
Their axial ratio (length divided by width) is essential for their categorization

cDNA is synthesized in the laboratory from messenger RNA (mRNA)
cDNA is derived from genomic RNA, lacking promoters and introns
The enzyme reverse transcriptase is used to create double-stranded cDNA from single-stranded mRNA
cDNA can be used to study gene expression and function and in molecular and biotechnology research

Reverse transcription is the process of synthesizing double-stranded DNA from single-stranded RNA using reverse transcriptase
Reverse transcriptase was discovered by Howard Temin and David Baltimore in 1970 independently
Reverse transcriptase is common in retroviruses, like HIV, and play a role in cell regulation. Reverse transcriptase is an enzyme common in retroviruses.

Microbial fermentation and mammalian cell culture techniques for protein production
Proteins are used in various industrial and medical applications
Presents a table listing some protein-based pharmaceutical products, produced through recombinant protein technologies and their applications
Emphasizes the importance of proteins in food processing, textiles, leather, and bioremediation processes
Includes some enzymes and their applications (such as amylase, protease, and lipase)

Detailing the use of microbial fermentation and mammalian cell cultures for producing therapeutic proteins
Producing large batches in bioreactors, containing therapeutic protein genes, for producing protein products