Term | Definition |
nucleotides | a compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group. Nucleotides form the basic structural unit of nucleic acids such as DNA. |
double helix | a pair of parallel helices intertwined about a common axis, especially that in the structure of the DNA molecule. |
base pairing rules | A with T: the purine adenine (A) always pairs with the pyrimidine thymine (T) C with G: the pyrimidine cytosine (C) always pairs with the purine guanine (G) |
replication | the action of copying or reproducing something. |
DNA polymerase | is a type of enzyme that is responsible for forming new copies of DNA, in the form of nucleic acid molecules. |
central dogma | Describes a key assumption of molecular biology, namely, that each gene in the DNA molecule carries the information needed to construct one protein, which, acting as an enzyme, controls one chemical reaction in the cell. |
RNA | ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells |
transcription | a written or printed representation of something |
RNA polymerase | is an enzyme that produces primary transcript RNA. In cells, RNAP is necessary for constructing RNA chains using DNA genes as templates, a process called transcription. |
messenger RNA | the form of RNA in which genetic information transcribed from DNA as a sequence of bases is transferred to a ribosome. |
ribosomal RNA | s essential for protein synthesis in all living organisms. |
transfer RNA | RNA consisting of folded molecules that transport amino acids from the cytoplasm of a cell to a ribosome. |
translation | is the process in which cellular ribosomes create proteins |
codon | A codon is a sequence of three DNA or RNA nucleotides that corresponds with a specific amino acid or stop signal during protein synthesis. |
stop codon | is a nucleotide triplet within messenger RNA that signals a termination of translation. |
start codon | always codes for methionine in eukaryotes and a modified Met |
anticodon | a sequence of three nucleotides forming a unit of genetic code in a transfer RNA molecule, corresponding to a complementary codon in messenger RNA. |