Term | Definition |
ribonucleic acid (RNA) | a nucleic acid and an intermediate that genes direct the making of the protein called melanin through |
transcription | the process of forming a nucleic acid by using another molecule as a template; particularly the process of synthesizing RNA by using one strand of DNA molecules as a template |
translation | the portion of protein synthesis that takes place at ribosomes and that uses the codons in mRNA molecules to specify the sequence of amino acids in polypeptide chains |
protein synthesis | the formation of proteins by using information contained in DNA and carried by mRNA |
ribose | a five-carbon sugar present in RNA |
messenger RNA (mRNA) | a single-stranded RNA molecule the carries the instruction from a gene to make a protein |
ribosomal RNA (rRNA) | the part of the structure of ribosomes |
transfer RNA (tRNA) | an RNA molecule that transfers amino acids to the growing end of a polypeptide chain transition |
RNA polymerase | an enzyme that starts (catalyzes) the formation of RNA by using a strand of DNA molecule as a template |
promoter | a nucleotide sequence on a DNA molecule wo which an RNA polymerase molecule binds, which initiates the transcription of a specific gane |
termination signal | a specific sequence of nucleotides that marks the end of a gene |
genetic code | the rule that describes how a sequence of nucleotides, read in groups of three consecutive nucleotides (triplets) that correspond to specific amino acids, specifies the amino acid sequence of a protein |
codon | in DNA, a three-nucleotide sequence that encodes an amino acid or signifies a start signal or a stop signal |
anticodon | a region of tRNA that consists of three bases complementary to the codon of mRNA |
genome | the complete genetic material contained in an individual |