In 1956 Francis Crick coined the term "the central dogma of molecular biology". He stated it as follows, "The central dogma of molecular biology deals with the detailed residue-by-residue transfer of sequential information. It states that such information cannot be transferred back from protein to either protein or nucleic acid." Underlying this concept was the idea that genetic information flows sequentially from DNA to RNA in a process known as transcription, then from RNA to protein in a processcalled translation. While the dogma recognizes that DNA can replicate itself to produce more DNA, it generally argues (with a couple notable exceptions) that RNA cannot become or "transfer information" back to DNA and that proteins cannot become or "transfer information" back to nucleic acids. Notable exceptions to this process that are well described and validated are the use of reverse transcription by some RNA viruses and the identification (albeit still somewhat controversial in some circles) of prions or self reproducing proteins. More recently, advances in our understanding of bacterial gene regulation and epigenetics have identified additional mechanisms that fall outside of the dogma described above. The purpose of this session is to cover thebasic principles of how these new discoveries influence bacterial pathogenesis.
展开▼
