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Biology chapt 12
Biology chapter 12
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| adenine (A) | One of four nitrogen-containing bases in nucleotides composing the structure of DNA and RNA. Pairs with uracil (U) and thymine (T). |
| guanine (G) | One of four nitrogen-containing bases in nucleotides composing the structure of DNA and RNA; pairs with cytosine. |
| thymine (T) | One of four nitrogen-containing bases in nucleotides composing the structure of DNA; pairs with adenine. |
| cytosine (C) | One of four nitrogen-containing bases in the nucleotides composing the structure of DNA and RNA; pairs with guanine. |
| double helix | Double spiral; describes the threedimensional shape of DNA. |
| complementary base pairing | Hydrogen bonding between particular purines and pyrimidines; responsible for the structure of DNA, and some RNA, molecules. |
| DNA replication | Synthesis of a new DNA double helix prior to mitosis and meiosis in eukaryotic cells and during prokaryotic fission in prokaryotic cells. |
| template | Parental strand of DNA that serves as a guide for the complementary daughter strand produced during DNA replication. |
| semiconservative replication | Process of DNA replication that results in two double helix molecules, each having one parental and one new strand. |
| DNA helicase | Enzyme unwinds DNA and separates the parental stands. |
| String-standed binging proteins (SSB) | Attach to newly seprated DNA and prevent it form re-forming tha helix so replication can occur. |
| DNA Primase | Places short primers on the strands to be replicated. |
| DNA ligase | Enzyme that links DNA fragments; used during production of recombinant DNA to join foreign DNA to vector DNA. |
| replication fork | In eukaryotic DNA replication, the location where the two parental DNA strands separate. |
| uracil (U) | Pyrimidine base that occurs in RNA, replacing thymine. |
| messenger RNA (mRNA) | Type of RNA formed from a DNA template and bearing coded information for the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide. |
| transfer RNA (tRNA) | Type of RNA that transfers a particular amino acid to a ribosome during protein synthesis; at one end it binds to the amino acid, and at the other end it has an anticodon that binds to an mRNA codon. |
| ribosomal RNA (rRNA) | Structural form of RNA found in the ribosomes. |
| transcription | First stage of gene expression; process whereby a DNA strand serves as a template for the formation of mRNA. |
| translation | During gene expression, the process whereby ribosomes use the sequence of codons in mRNA to produce a polypeptide with a particular sequence of amino acids. |
| central dogma | Processes that dictate the flow of information from the DNA to RNA to protein in a cell. |
| genetic code | Universal code that has existed for eons and allows for conversion of DNA and RNA’s chemical code to a sequence of amino acids in a protein. Each codon consists of three bases that stand for one of the 20 amino acids found in proteins. |
| triplet code | During gene expression, each sequence of three nucleotide bases stands for a particular amino acid |
| codon | Three-base sequence in messenger RNA that during translation directs the addition of a particular amino acid into a protein or directs termination of the process. |
| rNA polymerase | During transcription, an enzyme that creates an mRNA transcript by joining nucleotides complementary to a DNA template. |
| promoter | In an operon, a sequence of DNA where RNA polymerase binds prior to transcription. |
| mRNA transcript | mRNA molecule formed during transcription that has a sequence of bases complementary to a gene. |
| exon | Segment of mRNA containing the proteincoding portion of a gene that remains within the mRNA after splicing has occurred. |
| intron | Intervening sequence found between exons in mRNA; removed by RNA processing before translation. |
| ribozyme | RNA molecule that functions as an enzyme that can catalyze chemical reactions. |
| anticodon | Three-base sequence in a transfer RNA molecule base that pairs with a complementary codon in mRNA. |
| polyribosome | String of ribosomes simultaneously translating regions of the same mRNA strand during protein synthesis. |
| initiation | First stage of translation in which the translational machinery binds an mRNA and assembles. |
| elongation | Middle stage of translation in which additional amino acids specified by the mRNA are added to the growing polypeptide. |
| termination | End of translation that occurs when a ribosome reaches a stop codon on the mRNA that it is translating, causing release of the completed protein. |
| proteomics | Study of the complete collection of proteins that a cell or organism expresses. |