✅2 - Nucleic Acids Flashcards

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1
Q

What are individual nucleotides made up?

A
  • a pentose sugar
  • a phosphate group
  • a nitrogen containing organic base (C,T,U,A,G)
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2
Q

How are the 3 components joined?

A

As a result of condensation reactions

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3
Q

What is a phosphodiester bond?

A

The bond between the deoxyribose of one mononucleotide and the phosphate group of another

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4
Q

A=

A

Adenine

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5
Q

T=

A

Thymine

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6
Q

G=

A

Guanine

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7
Q

C=

A

Cytosine

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8
Q

U=

A

Uracil

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9
Q

What is a polynucleotide?

A

The continued linking of mononucleotides forming a long chain

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10
Q

What 4 bases does RNA have?

A

A,C,G,U

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11
Q

Describe the structure of RNA:

A

A single, relatively short polynucleotide chain where the pentose sugar is always ribose.

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12
Q

What are the 3 types on RNA involved in?

A
  • transfers genetic information from DNA to the ribosomes
  • ribosomes are made up of a type of RNA
  • involved in protein synthesis
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13
Q

Describe the structure of DNA:

A

The pentose sugar deoxyribose, making up two strands of polynucleotides, each of which are extremely long and joined by hydrogen bonds

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14
Q

What are the complimentary pairs?

A

A-T
G-C

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15
Q

How many bases in mRNA code for an amino acid?

A

Three, known as a codon

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16
Q

What does the order of the codons specify?

A

The type, number and sequence of the amino acids

17
Q

How is the DNA molecule adapted to carry out its functions?

A
  • it is a very stable structure which rarely mutates
  • two separate strands joined only by hydrogen bonds can separate easily during replication
  • extremely large molecule which can therefore carry a lot of genetic information
  • base pairing leads to the DNA being able to replicate and to transfer information as mRNA
18
Q

Why is DNA a stable molecule?

A
  • the phosphodiester backbone protects the more chemically reactive organic bases inside the double helix
  • hydrogen bonds link the organic base pairs forming bridges between phosphodiester backbones. As there are three hydrogen bonds between G and C, the higher the proportion of the bonds, the more stable the DNA