3.15-3.17 Flashcards
What determines the structure of a protein/polypeptide?
Gene
Define gene:
discrete unit of inheritance
What are genes made of
DNA/nucleic acids
DNA stands for?
deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA provides instructions for_________
its own replication
What is the intermediary for DNA and its replication?
RNA (ribonucleic acid) - one side of double helix
Describe the process of DNA replication in eukaryotes.
In the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell, a gene directs the synthesis of the RNA molecule. DNA is transcribed into RNA. The RNA molecule moves out of the nucleus and interacts with the protein-building machinery of the cell. There, the gene’s instructions, written in “nucleic acid language” are translated into “protein language,” the amino acid sequence of polypeptide.
How are the two types of nucleic acids functionally related?
There hereditary material of DNA contains the instructions for the primary structure of polypeptides. RNA is the intermediary that conveys those instructions to the protein-making machinery that assembles amino acids in the designated order.
DNA replication in prokaryotes?
Same, but in pc, which lack nuclei, both transcription and translation take place within the cytoplasm of the cell.
What are the monomers that make up nucleic acids?
nucleotides.
What are the three parts of a nucleotide (in DNA)?
a five-carbon sugar (pentose– in DNA, deoxyribose), which is attached, by one of its carbon molecules, to a phosphate group. On the other side, linked to another C, is a nitrogenous base.
What are nitrogenous bases made up of?
nitrogen and carbon. These bases tend to bond with hydrogen (H+) ions, making them basic.
What are the four nitrogenous bases?
Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, Guanine, the 4-letter alphabet of DNA.
What are the differences in RNA
the sugar is ribose instead of deoxyribose, and instead of Thymine there is Uracil.
What makes the backbone (helix) of DNA?
The covalent bonds between the sugar and the phosphate group. Sugar-phosphate backbone.
What are the bases that pair with each other?
A and T and C and G
What are nucleotides held together by?
hydrogen bonds (weaker than backbone, but stable all other)
How many nucleotide pairs are found in a double helix?
thousands to millions
What must the hydrogen bonding be like in nucleotides?
complementary.
What nucleotides have two-ring nitrogenous bases?
Guanine and adenine.
What roles do complementary base pairing play in the functioning of nucleic acids?
Ot makes possible the precise replication of DNA.
