3.1 Vocab Flashcards
Adenine
A purine nitrogen base that pairs with thymine in DNA and uracil in RNA
Antiparallel
The opposite arrangement of the sugar-phosphate backbones in the strands of a DNA double-helix (5’-3’ vs 3’-5’).
Base pair
A pair of nucleotides found in one or more nucleic acid strands that are attracted together through hydrogen bonding
Complementary strand
A new DNA strand that is made from the original template strand using complementary base pairing rules
Cytosine
A pyrimidine nitrogen base that pairs with guanine
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
A polymer of nucleic acids which is the carrier of genetic information present in all organisms; forms a double helix
Deoxyribose sugar
A 5-carbon sugar found in DNA
DNA Polymerase
An enzyme involved in DNA replication that joins individual nucleotides to produce a DNA molecule
DNA replication
The process by which DNA makes a copy of itself in preparation for cell division
Double helix
The primary physical shape of double-stranded DNA molecules
Guanine
A purine base that pairs with cytosine
Helicase
An enzyme involved in DNA replication that uncoils and unzips the original DNA molecule
Hydrogen bond
A type of weak chemical bond that connects nitrogen bases to form a base pair in a DNA molecule
Nitrogen base
A nitrogen-containing compound in nucleic acids that is read as the genetic code; adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine (A, T, G, C)
Nucleotide
A monomer of nucleic acids made up of a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base
Phosphate group (PO4)
A chemical group consisting of one phosphorous and four oxygen atoms that bond to a 5-carbon sugar to form the sugar-phosphate backbone of nucleic acid polymers.
Semiconservative replication
DNA replication that results in two DNA molecules, each composed of one new and one old strand of DNA
Template strand
The original DNA strand that is used to make a complementary strand of DNA in DNA replication
Thymine
A pyrimidine nitrogen base that pairs with adenine
