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LEGO® DNA

Transcription With slides from

LEGO DNA/RNA Booklet 1

© The LEGO Group and MIT All rights reserved

KV Version 4-26-11

LEGO Lesson 3 PPT Transcription

Kathy Vandiver, Ph.D. and Amanda Gruhl, Ph.D. Community Outreach and Education Program, Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS),

MIT, Cambridge MA

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Look at kit compartments/ read labels. Learn about DNA & RNA nucleotides

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There are channel protein genes with mutations. Let’s see what happens!

Teams should construct their LEGO DNA on top of the gene strip.

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Three nucleotides in a row means a certain amino acid.

Use the gene strips to help you learn about codons.

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You can decode the DNA message!

Find the amino acid from the DNA codon list on page 16 & 17.

•Place the amino acid card under each codon. •Pretend the amino acids are linked into a protein. •See how the DNA will determine how to build a protein? Each DNA nucleotide is important in the code.

Booklet instructions page 15

© MIT and the LEGO Group. All rights reserved

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Page 16 Three nucleotides means an amino acid. Find the amino acids.

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Page 17 Three nucleotides means an amino acid. Find the amino acids.

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Now we know about DNA codons. But DNA can’t leave the nucleus! RNA can leave the nucleus.

The cell makes a temporary copy of the gene with RNA nucleotides.

See the RNA leaving the nucleus ?

© MIT and the LEGO Group. All rights reserved

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Show the Molecular Workbench Animation Transcription 3

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Let’s check out RNA nucleotides!

DNA and RNA are similar.

DeoxyriboNucleic Acid RiboNucleic Acid(see below)

(see next slide for structure)

© MIT and the LEGO Group. All rights reserved

No oxygen atom on this sugar “De-oxyriboNucleic Acid”

Booklet page 4

11© MIT and the LEGO Group. All rights reserved

RNA nucleotides. The sugar is different. But the molecules work the same way.

Booklet last page

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Back to the LEGO DNA. TRANSCRIPTION. Open up the DNA. Position the “A T G” end of the DNA on the bottom left side. Open up the DNA strands.

ONE STRAND of RNA will be made. The process is called transcription. We saw it in the animation.

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The mRNA strand should be the same as the bottom strand of DNA ( the gene )

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The mRNA strand should be the same as the bottom strand of DNA ( the gene ) The mRNA is free to go out of the nucleus!

To be continued

on the

The RIBOSOME…

© MIT and the LEGO Group. All rights reserved

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Story with the mRNA to be continued….