2C: Genes Flashcards
Genetic Code
a series of rules which determine how genetic information is transcribed and translated into a functional gene
Universal
Nearly all living organisms use the same codons to code for specific amino acids
Unambiguous
Each codon is only capable of coding for one specific amino acid.
E.g. UUA only codes for leucine
Degenerate
Each amino acid may be coded for by multiple different codons
E.g. Leucine can be coded for by UUA and UUG
Non-Overlapping
Each Triplet or codon is read independently without any overlapping from adjacent triplets or codons
Central Dogma of Molecular Biology
information can be passed from nucleic acid to nucleic acid or to protein
however once it is passed into a protein, it cannot be passed back out
Promoter Region
a binding site for RNA polymerase at the 5’ end. Effectively denotes the starting position and direction of transcription
aka TATA box
Introns
regions of non-coding DNA that is removed during RNA processing
Exons
regions of coding DNA which are transcribed and translated into the final protein
Termination sequence
a sequence of DNA that signals for the end of transcription
Operator Region
a binding site for repressor proteins which inhibit gene expression
Transcription
the process whereby a sequence of DNA is used as a template to produce a complementary sequence of mRNA
Translation
the process where mRNA sequence is read to produce a corresponding amino acid sequence to build a polypeptide
mRNA
produced through transcription and caries genetic information from nucleus to ribosomes
DNA triplet
a group of 3 adjacent DNA nucleotides
