2B Proteins and DNA Flashcards
catalyst
a substance that speeds up a reaction without changing the substances produced or being changed itself
enzymes
proteins that act as biological catalysts for a specific reaction or group of reactions
specificity
the characteristics of enzymes that means that each enzyme will catalyse only a specific reaction or group of reactions; this is due to the very specific shapes which come form the tertiary and quaternary structures
anabolic reaction
a reaction that builds up (synthesises) new molecules in a cell
catabolic reaction
a reaction which breaks down substances within a cell
metabolism
the sum of the anabolic and catabolic processes in a cell
metabolic chain
a series of linked reactions in the metabolism of a cell
extracellular enzymes
enzymes that catalyse reactions outside of the cell in which they were made
intracellular enzymes
enzymes that catalyse reactions within the cell
mononucleotides
molecules with three parts - a 5-carbon pentose sugar, a nitrogen-containing base and a phosphate group - joined by condensation reactions
adenosine triphosphate ATP
a molecules that acts as the universal energy supply molecule in cells; it is made up of the base adenine, the pentose sugar ribose and three phosphate groups
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
a nucleic acid that is the genetic material in many organisms
ribonucleic acid (RNA)
a nucleic acid which is the genetic material in some organisms and is involved in protein synthesis
ribose
a pentose sugar that is part of the structure of RNA
deoxyribose
a pentose sugar that is part of the structure of DNA
purine base
a base found in nucleotides that has two nitrogen-containing rings
(adenine, guanine)
adenine
a purine base found in DNA and RNA
pyrimidine base
a base found in nucleotides that has one nitrogen-containing ring
(cytocine, thymine, uracil)
thymine
a pyrimidine base found in DNA
guanine
a purine base found in DNA and RNA