10. Molecular Structure of Chromosomes and Transposable Elements Flashcards
the structures within living cells that contain the genetic material.
Chromosome
all of the chromosomes and DNA sequences that an organism or species can possess.
Genome
a short segment of DNA that can be inserted in multiple locations within chromosomal DNA.
Transposable Element (TE)
genes that produce mRNA and encode polypeptides
Protein-Coding (Structural) Genes
in a chromosome, a region of DNA that lies between two adjacent genes.
Intergenic Region
a site on a chromosome that functions as an initiation site for the assembly of several proteins that begin the process of DNA replication.
Origin of Replication
short DNA sequences that occur many times within a species’ genome.
Repetitive Sequences
a darkly staining region that contains the genetic material of mitochondria, chloroplasts, or bacteria.
Nucleoid
a loop of DNA that is found in a bacterial chromosome and is typically 10 kbp in length.
Microdomain
a set of DNA-binding proteins found in bacteria that facilitate chromosome compaction and organization.
Nucleoid-Associated Proteins (NAPs)
the formation of additional coils in DNA due to twisting forces.
DNA Supercoiling
DNA conformations that differ with regard to supercoiling.
Topoisomers
an enzyme that introduces negative supercoils into DNA using energy from ATP and that can also relax positive supercoils when they occur.
DNA Gyrase (Topoisomerase II)
an enzyme that alters the degree of supercoiling in DNA; it relaxes negative supercoils.
Topoisomerase I
Noncoding Intervening sequences
Introns
a region of an RNA molecule that remains after splicing has removed the introns. In mRNA, the coding sequence of a polypeptide is contained within it.
Exons
a segment of a eukaryotic chromosome that provides an attachment site for the kinetochore.
Centromere
a group of proteins that attach to the centromere during meiosis and mitosis.
Kinetochore
specialized repeated sequences found at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes.
Telomeres
the number of times a particular base sequence appears throughout the genome of a given species.
Sequence Complexity
base sequences that are found a few hundred to several thousand times in a genome.
Moderately Repetitive Sequence
base sequences that are found tens of thousands or even millions of times throughout a genome.
Highly Repetitive Sequences
a region in DNA in which a very short nucleotide sequence is repeated many times in a row.
Tandem Array (Repeat)
a process in which a short segment of DNA called a transposable element is inserted into a new location in the genome.
Transposition
a site in a chromosome that tends to break at a fairly high rate due to the presence of a transposable element.
Mutable Site (Locus)
a cut-and-paste mechanism for transposition in which a transposable element is removed from one site and then inserted into another.
Simple Transposition
a type of transposable element that moves via transposase.
Transposon
a form of transposition in which the transposable element is transcribed into RNA. The RNA is then used as a template by reverse transcriptase to synthesize a DNA molecule that is integrated into a new region of the genome via integrase.
Retrotransposition
a type of transposable element that moves via an RNA intermediate.
Retrotransposon (Retroelements)
short DNA sequences that flank transposable elements in which the DNA sequence is repeated in the same direction.
Direct Repeats (DRs)
the simplest transposable element; commonly found in bacteria.
Insertion Element (IS element)
DNA sequences found in transposable elements that are identical (or very similar) but run in opposite directions.
Inverted Repeats (IRs)
the enzyme that catalyzes the movement of some types of transposable elements.
Transposase
a small transposable element that carries one or more genes that are not required for transposition.
Simple Transposon
a type of retrotransposon that is evolutionarily related to retroviruses and has long terminal repeats.
LTR Retrotransposon
sequences containing many short segments that are tandemly repeated. They are found in retroviruses and viral-like retrotransposons.
Long Terminal Repeats (LTRs)
a type of retrotransposon that does not have long terminal repeats.
non-LTR Retrotransposon
a transposable element that contains all the information necessary for transposition or retrotransposition to occur.
Autonomous Element
a transposable element that lacks a gene such as the one that encodes transposase or reverse transcriptase, which is necessary for transposition to occur.
Nonautonomous Element
an enzyme that uses an RNA template to make a double-stranded DNA molecule.
Reverse Transcriptase
an enzyme that functions in the integration of viral DNA or a retrotransposon into a chromosome.
Integrase
a mechanism of DNA synthesis that occurs during the movement of certain types of retrotransposons.
Target-Site Primed Reverse Transcription (TPRT)
in mammals, long interspersed elements that are usually 1 to 10 kbp in length and occur in 20,000 to 1,000,000 copies per genome.
LINEs
in the genomes of mammals, short interspersed elements that are less than 500 bp in length.
SINEs
the idea that transposable elements exist because they possess characteristics that allow them to multiply within the chromosomal DNA of living host cells even though they do not provide any selective advantage.
Selfish DNA Hypothesis
the phenomenon in which an exon and its flanking introns from one gene are inserted into another gene.
Exon Shuffling
the production of defective hybrid offspring of Drosophila, due to the phenomenon that P elements can transpose freely.
Hybrid Dysgenesis
a membrane-bound organelle in eukaryotic cells where the chromosomes are found.
Nucleus
the complex of DNA and proteins that is found within eukaryotic chromosomes.
Chromatin
the repeating structural unit within eukaryotic chromatin. It is composed of double-stranded DNA wrapped around an octamer of histone proteins.
Nucleosome
a group of proteins involved in forming the nucleosome, the repeating structural unit within eukaryotic chromatin.
Histone Proteins (Histones)
a compact structure of associated nucleosome units that is 30 nm in diameter.
30-nm Fiber
a segment of chromatin that is organized into a loop.
Loop Domain
a protein that recognizes CCCTC base sequences and binds to the DNA and to another CTCF molecule, thereby promoting the formation of a loop domain.
CCCTC Binding Factor (CTCF)
any of a category of proteins that use energy from ATP to catalyze the formation of loop domains.
SMC Protein
a nonoverlapping region in the cell nucleus occupied by a chromosome.
Chromosome Territory
during interphase, highly compacted regions of chromosomes in which the DNA is usually transcriptionally inactive.
Heterochromatin
less compacted regions of chromosomes, where DNA may be transcriptionally active.
Euchromatin
regions of chromosomes that are always heterochromatic and are permanently transcriptionally inactive.
Constitutive Heterochromatin
heterochromatin that differs among different cells of the body.
Facultative Heterochromatin
the highly compacted form of a eukaryotic chromosome that is observed during metaphase of mitosis.
Metaphase Chromosome
a multiprotein complex that plays a role in the condensation of interphase chromosomes to produce metaphase chromosomes.
Condensin
a multiprotein complex that facilitates the alignment of sister chromatids.
Cohesin